A perspective on musical representations of folded protein nanostructures. Issue 1 (5th January 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Franjou, Sebastian L; Milazzo, Mario; Yu, Chi-Hua; Buehler, Markus J
• Is Part Of: Nano futures. Volume 5:Issue 1(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-01-05
• Subjects: sonification -- music generation -- algorithmic composition -- proteins -- biology -- composition -- design; Nanoscience -- Periodicals; 620.5
• DOI: 10.1088/2399-1984/abcf1b
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2399-1984

Abstract

Abstract: Proteins are the building blocks of all life, creating materials as diverse as spider silk, cells, and hair, but also other countless functions from enzymes to drugs. Here we discuss a method to represent folded protein nanostructures as musical compositions. We explore different avenues of artistic creation, interpolating between human design, natural or evolutionary design, and designs from a deep recurrent network model that was trained against musical scores of known three-dimensional protein structures. Artistically, our work offers a new perspective on the limits of scientific understanding, and allows human players to interact with nanoscale phenomena, providing a tool for STEM outreach, and use of nanoscopic phenomena for artistic expression.