What You Should Know About The Musical Structure Of COVID-19
Since the spread of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), there have been many images of the virus surfacing across the Internet. The COVID-19 is believed to have protein spikes, which help them enter into the host cells. Though the spike-like proteins are invisible to the naked eye, it is, however, possible to listen to them. Yes, you heard that right.
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor has developed something surprising to all. With the use of artificial intelligence, Markus Buehler and his team from MIT have developed a one hour and 49 minutes audible representation of the structure of the spike proteins of COVID-19.
The audible sound represents the different aspects of the spike-like proteins which are usually made up of amino acids. With the help of a new technique called sonification, the MIT researchers have assigned the entire spikes a unique note and converted them into music.
COVID-19 is highly contagious. The spike-like protein on the virus is the reason for the contagious nature of the infection. These spikes of coronavirus help them to bind to the cells of the host and enter into the body. According to a study, coronavirus binds themselves to the ACE2 receptor present in the human cell surface and enter the body. These receptors are responsible for the spread of COVID-19. The infection tends to become severe in older patients and people with cardiovascular and hypertension diseases as they take medications that increase the number of ACE2 receptors. [1]
The audible music structure of the virus will help to find the sites on these spikes which can easily be bound by drugs or antibodies, hence preventing the multiplication of viruses in the ACE2 receptors. The method is believed to be faster and easy in preventing viruses than molecular modelling.
Benefits Of Translating Proteins Into Audible Sound
The brain of humans is great at processing sounds than images. Once a music is played, the brain easily picks up its features like volume, rhythm, pitch, melody and chords. As per the MIT researchers, the sound is the most elegant way to find the details stored in the spike or proteins of viruses compared to its image which is very small and can only be viewed under a high-powered microscope. Thus, representing the sequence of amino acid of the spikes in a musical composition is the best way to access its details. This method can also help other researchers understand the vibrational structure of coronavirus and design drugs that can fight against them.