Examples of protein sonification algorithms using the human insulin protein.

Insulin - Algorithm I

Eric Prydz, 'Call on Me' (Retarded Funk Mix) divided into quarter-beats and reordered so that each piece is followed by the piece most similar to it from those remaining.

Theo Burt - Automatics Group Remixes - archive 2012 to 2016 
https://theoburt.bandcamp.com/album/automatics-group-remixes-archive-2012-to-2016

Automatics Group Remixes - archive 2012 - 2016

Eric Prydz, 'Call on Me' (Retarded Funk Mix) divided... (see description)

FREE DOWNLOAD: http://goo.gl/7ZmX4w

Includes 10 full-length acapellas from around 90s-2000s, which will definitely make the crowd go BOOM.
Assembled by @thisisbkid and released in sweet cooperation with @future-house-cloud. <3

Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

90s CLUB CLASSICS ACAPELLA Pack VOL. 1

On the Extinction of a Species is a 23-minute 7.1-multichannel music composition. The piece combines an acousmatic sound world with voice narration to tell the story of the extinction of the passenger pigeon.

The topic of the composition, the eradication of four billion pigeons in the late 19th century, is a cautionary tale: even if the actions of an individual person seem negligible, the collective impact of these actions are enormous. Examining the public mindset surrounding the extinction of the passenger pigeon show striking similarities with the treatment of current and pressing global environmental issues such as global warming, the plastic pollution epidemic and the ongoing mass extinction of species. The unwillingness to acknowledge and act upon the impact of our own actions seems to be just as prevalent now as it was in the 1890s. Presenting a music piece concerned with the mass extinction of the passenger pigeon is therefore not only about a tale of the past, but a reminder of the environmental impact of our own actions.

More info: https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/portfolio-of-original-compositions%28ce8b7834-cfae-4f8e-8689-05984390a33c%29.html

On the Extinction of a Species (stereo version) (2018)

56Fe is a nine-minute acousmatic composition that uses sound recordings of steam vents, struck metal, and working machinery to evoke links to the Industrial Revolution and to invite the listener to ponder their relationship with their industrialised environment. Besides sound recordings, the composition uses sounds created from the sonification of electron orbital energy data for water and iron. 56Fe was first shown as a sound art installation in London in July 2018 and later adapted for a concert hall setting.

56Fe (2018)

summoning exposition

While we cannot see small nanoscopic objects like proteins or other molecules that make up virtually all living matter including our cells, tissues, as well as pathogens such as viruses, our computational algorithm allows us to make its material manifestation audible.  This piece is a musical representation of the amino acid sequence and structure of the spike protein of the pathogen of COVID-19, 2019-nCoV (protein data bank identifier 6VSB [1]). 

MUSICAL DECEIT

A virus’ genome hijacks the host cell’s protein manufacturing machinery, and forces it to replicate the viral genome and produce viral proteins to make new viruses from it.  This musical art teaches us something about the fine line between beauty of life and death as an opposite pole.  As you listen to the protein you will find that the intricate design results in incredibly interesting and actually pleasing, relaxing sounds. This doesn’t really convey the deadly impacts this particularly protein is having on the world. This aspect of the music shows the deceiving nature of the virus, how it hijacks our body to replicate, and hurt us along the way. So, the music is a metaphor for this nature of the virus to deceive the host and exploit it for its own multiplication. 

HOW IT IS DONE: 

What you hear is a multi-layered algorithmic composition featuring both the vibrational spectrum of the entire protein (expressed in sound and rhythmic elements), the sequence and folding of amino acids that compose the virus spike structure, as well as interwoven melodies - forming counterpoint music - reflecting the complex hierarchical intersecting geometry of the protein [2].

Scientific references:

[1] Wrapp et al., "Cryo-EM structure of the 2019-nCoV spike in the prefusion conformation," Science, 2020, DOI: 10.1126/science.abb2507

[2] Buehler et al., "A Self-Consistent Sonification Method to Translate Amino Acid Sequences into Musical Compositions and Application in Protein Design Using Artificial Intelligence," ACS Nano, 2019, DOI: pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsnano.9b02180

Viral counterpoint of the coronavirus spike protein (2019-nCoV)

Viral Counterpoint of the Coronavirus Spike Protein (2019-nCoV)

Snap!, 'Rhythm is a Dancer' divided into eighth-beats and reordered so that each piece is followed by the piece most similar to it from those remaining.

Theo Burt - Automatics Group Remixes - archive 2012 to 2016 
https://theoburt.bandcamp.com/album/automatics-group-remixes-archive-2012-to-2016

Automatics Group Remixes - archive 2012 to 2016

Snap!, 'Rhythm is a Dancer' divided  ... (see description)

Hi, I'm Eddie. I use computer coding to make music. I do this for both scientific research and for artistic purposes. Sometimes I do both at the same time, creating art to showcase science. My 'day job' is as a PhD student at the University of Edinburgh researching ways to represent biological data with sound. If you're interested in science and sound feel free to get in touch - I'd love to hear your thoughts, or even better, your music.

Insulin - Algorithm I

Eddie Martin