Monitoring Health Through Music of the Genes

Future doctors could monitor health through music of the patients' genes by using a new method where gene expressions, the process by which a gene's DNA sequence is converted into the functional proteins of a cell, are transformed into into musical sounds. In the acoustic translation, harmony represents good health, and discord indicates disease.

clipped from www.boston.com Future doctors could monitor health through music of the patients' genes In this representation of genetic activity, the circles are genes, the lines signify relationships, and colors indicate genes that have similar functions. They use mathematical techniques, in the case of colon cancer, for instance, to reduce the data from a group of nearly 10,000 genes down to just four combinations that they say represent virtually all the variability in the data. clipped from bcl.med.harvard.edu Discovering Biological Guilds Through Topological Abstraction clipped from bcl.med.harvard.edu clipped from www.boston.com Each combination is then assigned a note. When three or more notes are played at the same time, they become a chord. When those chords are played across time, they become music. clipped from bcl.med.harvard.edu clipped from www.boston.com The researchers assign a harmonious sound to a normal, healthy gene network. When there are deviations in the genes' behavior -- such as the presence of disease -- the music sounds inharmonious. clipped from www.technologyreview.com Multimedia Listen to examples of gene-based music.

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Future doctors could monitor health through music of the patients' genes - The Boston Globe
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Music Used to Analyze Gene Expression - Medgadget - www.medgadget.com