Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers have managed to use artificial intelligence to translated a portion of the coronavirus into music, capturing even the smallest details that can’t be seen under a traditional microscope. The team focused on a crown-like structure, also known as a spike protein, which helps the virus attach to and enter human cells.
Ultimately, the researchers hope that hearing these viral proteins may one day help others find sites where antibodies or drugs might be able to bind to the coronavirus spike. The sonic sequence of the coronavirus spike protein could be processed through a database of other similar proteins in order to find common backdoors that could potentially be turned into a drug or viable vaccine.
- Heinecke, Liz Lee (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 144 Pages - 09/15/2014 (Publication Date) - Quarry Books (Publisher)
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,” said Markus Buehler, professor of engineering at MIT.