DNA, the molecule that encodes genetic information in living things, consists of subunits called nucleotide bases. These bases--adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), and thymine (T)--are grouped in pairs and arranged in sequences. Each strand of DNA contains thousands of base sequences (e.g., ATTCCGGA) and these determine the combination of amino acids that create the structure of the proteins encoded by the DNA.
Biologists have been engaged in the monumental task of identifying and recording base sequences, in the DNA of everything from slime molds to human beings, for more than twenty years. We now have enormous databases of sequence data. The most visible effort is the Human Genome Project's mapping of the three billion base pairs present in over 30,000 human genes.
The quest to identify the structure of DNA in humans and other organisms was undertaken without knowing all of the potential applications, but with the recognition that the data could transform science and medicine. It seems unlikely, however, that anyone expected the data to have any impact on the Billboard 100.
Art and science are no strangers, and they merge in surprising ways.
After viewing some early sequence data, David W. Deamer, a cell biologist and a musician, was reminded of musical notation. He played around with the idea of a connection between them, and shared his observations in a 1983 issue of OMNI magazine1. The following year a letter to the journal Nature (from Kenshi Hayashi and Nobuo Munakata) suggested that translating sequence data into music could aid recognition, memorization, and error-checking of the data.2
In 1986 Susumo Ohono published a paper in Immunogenetics examining the relationship between patterns of genetic sequence data and musical structure. He argued that exploiting this similarity might assist us in comprehending the flood of genetic data since humans find meaning in music, but not in (seemingly) random sequences of letters.3
Over the last decade a number of applications have been developed for translating base sequences into music, including Bio2Midi and PM (see links below). The method of translation varies from program to program. Sound properties have been mapped to light absorption spectra, molecular weight, and proteins and their folding patterns.
Collaborations between musicians and biologists, creating and employing these translation programs, have produced collections of recorded music and some have enjoyed healthy sales through the Internet.
If you want to know more about the process, the links below provide detailed explanations of the science and music theory behind the creation of DNA music.
Or, just sit back and enjoy the soothing sounds of gamma crystalline or groove to the beat of gorilla histocompatibility antigen. (QuickTime Player required)
- Deamer D. Music: the arts. OMNI. 1983;April.
- Hayashi K, Munakata N. Basically musical. Nature. 1984;310:96.
- Ohno S, Ohno M. The all prevasive principle of repetitious recurrence governs not only coding sequence construction but also human endeavor in musical composition. Immunogenetics. 1986;24:71-78.
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