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Protein Music
isudoru writes: "Ever wondered what the DNA can be converted into? Well the first attempt to convert the letters of DNA is to make them into music. A program called ProteinMusic converts the DNA sequences into midi songs and is able to export to midi too. It's platform independent since it's made in java."
these seemingly random notes sound better than the crap you hear on the radio nowadays.
Companies that have already patended certain DNA sequences could sue you for divulging trade secrets. A patent (properly) discloses the inner workings of an invention. In theory, anyone can, after the monopolistic term has expired, can create a duplicate of the original invention, simply by following the instructions laid out in the patent. This is quite different from trade secrets, which, naturally, involve no public disclosure.
The more I have thought about it, the more I wondered if any 4 notes, if cleverly chosen, will sound musical if played at random.
Actually, the version of the DNA music program shown here first translates the sequence to amino acids, and so has 20 notes.
If people want to fawn about how "beautiful" the "music" is, they're missing the point. Humans are, if nothing else, pattern-seeking computers. There isn't software yet that can spot trends in art, obscure connections between films, influences in music, etc.
Transforming information into "music" in a predictable way is just another way of receiving the information and giving us the chance to process it . If we weren't such visual creatures in the first place (imagine if Bat Boy were the rule rather than the exception), we'd be doing much more of this as a matter of routine. But as we trust our eyes more than we trust our ears, we tend to think of these applications as novelties. The fact that we see music as mere "entertainment" rather than as information makes it even more difficult for folks to see the real value here.
For this to be meaningful as a source of information, or a different way of looking at information (is there a difference?) then there should be no choice of duration, octave, instrumentation, harmony, etc. unless it makes hearing "things" easier, or if it is determined from the sequence. (every time you see GTACGG, shout "YIPPIE!") But if the performer gets to choose, we're hearing the performer's composition based on the information rather than a straightforward presentation of the information. Take a look into 12-tone music, for example.
Maybe after years of work on such things, we'll develop some decent guidelines on how to present information with sound, and Edward Tufte will come out with The Audio Presentation of Quantitative Information or Enlistening Information.
-dwd-
wondering how a JAva program is going to get my DNA sequence, especially since I don't have a DNA sequence finder setting around in my room?
You DNA sequence is almost identical to that of every other human being. Over the size of the genome, the differences amount to almost nothing - in terms of the amount of difference it would make to a piece of music, you're unlikely to notice any difference between different individuals.
...if you don't want to put SlowJava on your pc.
Try Java. It has improved over the last five years. Don't dismiss it just because it was slow when it first came out.
But JVMs are available for almost all OSs. Also, you don't need a JVM to run a Java program. You could also compile it to an executable using a native compiler.
If you want to check out a sound sample from the song, see this page.
This reminds me of pi music. Isn't nature beautiful?
...opening night at the DNA Lounge.
I can imagine the kind of patter you'll be hearing on the dance floor...
"Yeah- its got a good beat, you can catalyze to it. I give it a 9."
"I just wish they'd have considered adding a RNA polymerase, you know? Its missing something. You ain't gonna be synthesizing mRNA if you can't transcribe the nucleotide sequence."
"True. True..."
Have you wondered what you get if you sequence and play the protein thought to be responisble for Alzheimers?
Brittany Spears, NKOTB, and N'Sync.
www.eFax.com are spammers
That might work for protein structure, but when we're talking about straight DNA samples, there's not always a correlation between the DNA sequence and the amino acid chain. Not every start codon is interpreted, and sometimes it's on the other chain of the DNA double helix. In other words, your song might be backwards and wrong:)
Must admit, it's alot more interesting sounding than music with four tones. THough if it's four chords and played on a guitar, then it's more inventive than most modern rock music..
toeslikefingers.com - because
before DNApster.com starts it's service :)
I read slashdot for the articles.
Unless, of course, you've got some ST:Voyager-style retro-viruses that have been re-writing the O-Town tunes in your base-pairs as Bach or Rob Zombie whilst removing those nasty Borg implants etc.
well sorry but dna isn't converted into anything
.oO0Oo.
it's not source code, it's parameters
There are places where the networks are not touching,and there are places where they are-Boeing's Lori Gunter
I am sure I could replicate the exact same effect by applying sandpaper to my genitals.
Will pregnant mothers be sued under the DMCA for illegally reverse engineering encrypted music ?
Although it is more likely that a virus, not a human, would have DNA that translated to that.
Just because it CAN be done, doesn't mean it should!
So maybe it is more like assembly language source code.
Just because it CAN be done, doesn't mean it should!
made this: Molecular music Nice thingy )
amazon link
The last song, "S2 translation" has the following text on the sleeve:
"sequenced from the amino acid characteristics and the DNA coding for protein S2, receptor for serotonin and other tryptamines, thanks to Dr R.D.King for the data."
As you can see in the referenced article, Shamed and R.D.King worked on this a long time ago.
)9TSS
Well, the DNA is converted to RNA which then does the actual amino acid choosing.
There are only 19 amino acids that make up proteins.
The RNA seqence to start a protien is AUG and the stop sequences are UAA, UAG, or UGA.
--
Soma: because a gramme is better than a damn.
...TTCCGATACGATTAGCC da da doo doo bop bop wobba do-day hubba ma moo ya ya ba BOOEY!
Honorary Member of Jackie Chan's Kung Fu Process Servers
Since Java isn't open source, there's no telling what could happen to your DNA! Sun has code hidden within Java to steal your genetic information and email it to Microsoft!
Conformity is the jailer of freedom and enemy of growth. -JFK
I wonder about 1) how albums by certain rock artists would match up in this regard; and 2) the algorthm for the original conversion of DNA to music. There are so many ways that it could be done. You could take the 21 amino acids and line them up on any number of scales: chromatic, wholetone, diatonic, etc. Some choices would generate more musical results than others.
Check out the Vinny the Vampire comic strip
"It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
This idea seems to come straight out of the SF novel "Children of God", the sequel to the should-be-classic "The Sparrow" by Mary Doria Russell. I never imagined that converting DNA to music would ever actually prove practical, though.
Babies.
Who would have thunk it?
--
Sometimes the obvious answer is the correct one.
If I write 23 bars of DNA music and my girlfriend writes 23 bars of DNA music, am I going to be paying royalties to her for the rest of my life?
Who's going to get custody of the gold records that hang on the wall?
no shit...i mentioned that...you might want to read the rest of my post....
wondering how a JAva program is going to get my DNA sequence, especially since I don't have a DNA sequence finder setting around in my room?
However, the implications of this are pretty cool....(could be gross violation of privacy too)
once they can get everyone's DNA sequence (not even all of it, since 99% is the same, but just the unique portion), and then convert it to a number, it can serve as a unique encryption key/id whatever...although it could also kill anonymity...
hmmmm....
Adenosine is not a protein. It is a nucleoside (base + sugar). Add phosphate group(s), and you would have a nucleotide.
If you can't beat them, embrace and extend them.
Now when the aliens recieve our DNA they won't know if we have sent them our genetic blueprint or just our latest symphonic masterpiece.
So now, not only will companies be able to patent specific genes, they'll be able to copyright them too? That's all we need.. the RIAA to get involved in our DNA.
Torg, come out of the spaceship. Nothing can stop Torg.
Say we take some DNA, and use it as a protein blueprint for some kind of organism, then pick the most pleasant sounds it produces and call that music?
Or has that been done?
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What would happen if a section of the music derived from your DNA just happened to match a well known musical hit? Would you be getting nastygrams from the RIAA? (Another reason for certain groups to lobby for a repository for everybody's DNA, perhaps).
In this unlikely case, who would own the copyright? The original artist / publisher, or me? What about prior works? Had I been born (or possibly even conceived) before the music was composed, would I have a legal leg to stand on? Or would I have to pay royalties, and at what point? Every time a cell divides, maybe. It could be split down to easy to make monthly payments, perhaps, determined by the average rate of cell division.
And don't you go giving your blood away either. It would be interesting to see the RIAA going after blood banks with the same force as Napster. Or maybe I would just be banned from giving blood instead.
Also, what if there was a program to convert DNA into code. Could the same copyright issues apply then? Maybe this explains the rift between Linux and Windows users?? Genetic predisposition maybe? In fact, if there is a method of producing some form of meaningful data from DNA, can you treat the two as the same?
I am reminded of the prime number that when un-gzipped produced decss, bringing up the issue of whether a number (or in this case, DNA) can be treated as the same as something that is decoded from it. Surely there are an almost infinite number of ways to decode DNA. If just one of those methods decodes a copyrighted work from DNA, what then?
--please insert witty .sig here --