Linda Long
Encyclopedia
Dr. Linda Long is a biochemist
Biochemistry
Biochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, including, but not limited to, living matter. Biochemistry governs all living organisms and living processes...

 and musician, who has combined these two fields to create what she terms molecular music.

Dr. Long worked as a biochemist and a Research Fellow in Complementary Medicine at Exeter University, specialising in the fields of homeopathy, herbal medicine and music therapy. Her work has been published in various medical journals, and she is an associate editor of the Journal Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies, published by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain
Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain was formerly the statutory regulatory and professional body for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in England, Scotland and Wales...

http://www.rpsgb.org.uk/pdfs/pr050531a.pdf. She has been working on molecular music since the 1990s.

She has been awarded an Invention and Innovation award over two years by NESTA
NESTA
The National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts is an independent endowment in the United Kingdom established by an Act of Parliament in 1998....

http://www.nesta.org.uk/about/directory/index.aspx?a=L. This has enabled her to develop her promotion of music in education, as well as to release two CDs of her music: Music of the Plants and Music of the Body. The award has also helped her develop an exhibit at Explore @Bristol
At-Bristol
At-Bristol is a public science and technology "exploration" and education centre and charity in Bristol, England.As a visitor attraction, At-Bristol has hundreds of hands-on exhibits, and a Planetarium with seasonal shows for the over fives, and a 'Little Stars' show for children aged five and under...

.

Molecular music

Molecular music involves the translation of the 3-dimensional positions of a protein's amino acids into note sequences. This is not an arbitrary process; x-ray crystallography data is used to relate specific musical effects such as volume and pitch to the protein's molecular structure. In this way, characteristic patterns in protein structure are heard as recognisable musical note patterns from the structural data.

This method of translating protein structures into music is said by Dr. Long to be a useful aid in understanding proteins for the visually impaired.

Discography

Music of the Plants (1999) is a CD of five tracks. Conventional track titling is eschewed in favour of a description of the specific protein used for each track:
  1. Pokeweed
    Pokeweed
    The pokeweeds, also known as pokebush, pokeberry, pokeroot, poke sallet, polk salad, polk salat, polk sallet, inkberry or ombú, comprise the genus Phytolacca, perennial plants native to North America, South America, East Asia and New Zealand...

     Phytolacca americana
    Phytolacca americana
    American Pokeweed is a large semi-succulent herbaceous perennial plant growing up to 10 feet in height. It is native to eastern North America, the Midwest, and the Gulf Coast, with more scattered populations in the far West...

    pokeweed antiviral protein
  2. White mustard
    White Mustard
    White mustard is an annual plant of the family Brassicaceae. It is sometimes also referred to as Brassica alba or B. hirta...

     Sinapsis alba myrosinase
    Myrosinase
    Myrosinase is a family of enzymes involved in plant defense against herbivores. Their structure has been elucidated and is available.-Myrosinase activity:...

  3. Parsley
    Parsley
    Parsley is a species of Petroselinum in the family Apiaceae, native to the central Mediterranean region , naturalized elsewhere in Europe, and widely cultivated as an herb, a spice and a vegetable.- Description :Garden parsley is a bright green hairless biennial herbaceous plant in temperate...

     Petroselinum crispum plastocyanin
    Plastocyanin
    Plastocyanin is an important copper-containing protein involved in electron-transfer. The protein is monomeric, with a molecular weight around 10,500 Daltons, and 99 amino acids in most vascular plants...

     (electron transport protein)
  4. Clover
    Clover
    Clover , or trefoil, is a genus of about 300 species of plants in the leguminous pea family Fabaceae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution; the highest diversity is found in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, but many species also occur in South America and Africa, including at high altitudes...

     Trifolium repens cyanogenic β-glucosidase
  5. Jimson weed Datura stramonium
    Datura stramonium
    Datura stramonium, known by the common names Jimson weed, devil's trumpet, devil's weed, thorn apple, tolguacha, Jamestown weed, stinkweed, locoweed, datura, pricklyburr, devil's cucumber, Hell's Bells, moonflower and, in South Africa, malpitte and mad seeds, is a common weed in the...

    tropinone reductase


Music of the Body (2002) is a longer CD, and the tracks have titles related to their relevant protein's function. as the title implies, all the proteins are found in the human body.
  1. Absorb and Balance - thyrotropin
  2. Voice of Metabolism - thyroid
    Thyroid
    The thyroid gland or simply, the thyroid , in vertebrate anatomy, is one of the largest endocrine glands. The thyroid gland is found in the neck, below the thyroid cartilage...

     hormone
  3. Calcium Chimes - parathyroid hormone
  4. Mineral Replenish - guanylin
    Guanylin
    Guanylin is a 15 amino acid polypeptide that is secreted by goblet cells in the colon. Guanylin acts as an agonist of the guanylyl cyclase receptor GC-C and regulates electrolyte and water transport in intestinal and renal epithelia...

  5. Growth Control - somatostatin
    Somatostatin
    Somatostatin is a peptide hormone that regulates the endocrine system and affects neurotransmission and cell proliferation via interaction with G-protein-coupled somatostatin receptors and inhibition of the release of numerous secondary hormones.Somatostatin...

  6. Music for Muscle and Bone - growth hormone
    Growth hormone
    Growth hormone is a peptide hormone that stimulates growth, cell reproduction and regeneration in humans and other animals. Growth hormone is a 191-amino acid, single-chain polypeptide that is synthesized, stored, and secreted by the somatotroph cells within the lateral wings of the anterior...

  7. Inner Cycles - progesterone
    Progesterone
    Progesterone also known as P4 is a C-21 steroid hormone involved in the female menstrual cycle, pregnancy and embryogenesis of humans and other species...

     receptor protein
  8. Nurture - chorionic gonadotrophin
  9. Fertility - Follitropin

See also

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