This News and Guidance Special Report presents an expert comparative analysis of two vastly different data storage technologies: the obsolete analog Video Home System (VHS) tape and the emerging digital Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) molecular archive. The report establishes that while both systems serve the common human need to store information, they represent a fundamental technological shift from macroscopic, electromechanical magnetic systems (VHS) to microscopic, molecular-biological systems (DNA). The analysis meticulously contrasts them across several dimensions, highlighting DNA’s unprecedented storage density (potential for zettabytes per gram) and extreme longevity (millennia), against VHS’s low density, short lifespan, and susceptibility to physical wear. Crucially, the text emphasizes that the high upfront cost and slow speed of DNA synthesis and sequencing currently restrict its use to ultra-long-term “cold” archival storage, contrasting sharply with VHS’s historical role as an affordable, mass-market consumer product.
Full post available at: https://show.sbasp.com/blog/vhsvsdna/
