Detecting Cancer Through Music

September 30th, 2009

Music and cancer do not go together, and I mean that in the context of this new technology:

A project at Harvard Medical School created a program to translate the signals from cells into musical notes. Normal signals will sound harmonious, abnormal signals like those coming from cancer cells will sound awful.

Listen to this –

Using date from a pre-existing colon cancer study, bioinformatician Gil Alterovitz and his team created a program that transforms complex genomic information into musical notes, so that abnormal data will sound discordant.

“When things go awry, such as in the case of p53-null mutant colon cancer cells under inflammatory stress conditions, gene expression varies slightly, and inharmonious chord progressions result. Listening to the results — a symphony of electronic harpsichords, recorders, flutes, and oboes — tells the story. (via The Scientist)

Cool isn’t it? The program has been so successful that Alterovitz has been contacted by the US Navy for monitoring sonar signals, and Verizon (the phone company) for keeping track of their complicated networks!

Post from: Genetics & Health