I got to thinking about data storage density the other day, when an old floppy disk was found at the back of a drawer. It wasn’t quite a ‘what’s that Daddy?’ moment, but almost.
The first computer I ever touched was the size of a small bus and had a single function: to play the game noughts and crosses. That was pretty amazing, at the time.
The first I ever programmed was a university mainframe, on which time had to be booked several days in advance. The procedure involved writing the program on a separate terminal in another building, coming back the next day to collect the program – now made flesh in the form of a box of punch-cards – and then delivering these to the hallowed mainframe building so that a technician could feed the cards into the beast. I had been granted an overnight run, and so while the valves and pistons considered the complex finite-element analysis I had created, I drank beer and then slept.
With the personal computer came the floppy disk, first at 5.25inches and then , magically, a smaller 3.5inch format with twice as much capacity. Now everything is stored either in the cloud or on Flash memory, with many gigabytes squeezed onto something smaller than my smallest fingernail.
I’m sure the process hasn’t ended, and was amused by a graphic I saw posted on a well-known social network this week. This claimed that a single human gamete stores 37.5Mb of data in the form of DNA, and then multiplied this to give a figure of 1.5 terrabytes per, erm, sample (I’m treading carefully here to avoid falling foul of filters).
Amusing as that comparison is, a more accurate picture is that each gamete stores the full dataset of the parent DNA, which is about 1.5Gb. In terms of data transfer, the hundreds of millions of copies are merely a way of providing redundancy, not multiplying the actual amount of data.
This, then, would appear to be the limit of data storage density by conceivable (!) technology: 1.5Gb per gamete cell, which makes the data density of a smartphone microSD card seem about as impressive as the data density of a rock painting in a cave.
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Russ Swan
editor, LabHomepage.com
This week’s top stories: 20 July 2012
1. The lab steriliser gets personal
A NOTICEABLE trend in lab equipment in recent years has been the growth of the ‘personal’ scale machine. Where once almost any item of kit was an expensive…
http://labhomepage.com/2356/cleaning/the-lab-steriliser-gets-personal/
2. Microscope software gets major upgrade
THE LATEST iteration of CellSens microscopy software from Olympus includes new imaging modules that promise many benefits, especially to inexperienced…
http://labhomepage.com/2346/microscope/microscope-software-gets-major-upgrade/
3. Deep plates promise high sample integrity
A NEW applications report shows that deep well polypropylene microplates from Porvair Sciences contain almost no significant levels of leachable or extractable…
http://labhomepage.com/2316/microplate/deep-plates-promise-high-sample-integrity/
4. Oversubscribed next-generation workshop now online
WHEN Oxford Gene Technology (OGT) hosted a workshop at the European Society of Human Genetics (ESHG) 2012 conference in Germany last…
http://labhomepage.com/2335/training-education/oversubscribed-next-generation-workshop-now-online/
5. Point of care HbA1c analyser matches lab quality
NEW semi-automated HbA1c analyser promising accurate and low cost diagnostics for use at point of care or in the laboratory is now CE-certified and is…
http://labhomepage.com/2330/diagnostic/point-of-care-hba1c-analyser-matches-lab-quality/
6. Trough plates boost productivity in multichannel pipetting
RESEARCHERS performing serial dilutions or working with reagents using multichannel pipettors might like to check out this new ‘trough plate’ from JG…
http://labhomepage.com/2326/pipette/trough-plates-boost-productivity-in-multichannel-pipetting/
7. Lab freezers in the deepest green
ENERGY efficiency is a prime consideration for any laboratory these days, and freezer manufacturer New Brunswick says this has long been a priority. The Eppendorf….
http://labhomepage.com/2311/refrigeration/lab-freezers-in-the-deepest-green/
8. Aseptic sampling with walk-away automation
AN AUTOMATED sampling workstation that collects samples directly and aseptically from bioreactors can save time, remove risk of error, and improve quality…
http://labhomepage.com/2351/sampling/aseptic-sampling-with-walk-away-automation/
9. Scaling-up production of functionalised silicas
TURNAROUND time and batch-to-batch efficiency have been improved at Phosphonics, while scaling-up production of its range of functionalised …
http://labhomepage.com/2339/labware/scaling-up-production-of-functionalised-silicas/
10. Making the lab safety cabinet safer
CHEMICAL safety cabinets are a commonplace and sensible way to store hazardous materials in the laboratory, but can present their own safety challenges says Air…
http://labhomepage.com/2322/safety-equipment/making-the-lab-safety-cabinet-safer/