Translating molecules into music helps humans and AI understand proteins

An illustration showing the conversion of the structure of a protein molecule into a musical passage

Source: © Christine Daniloff/MIT

Scientists make amino acids’ vibrations audible to train artificial intelligence programs in protein design

The language of music helps both humans and AI to better understand protein structures, researchers have shown. Protein music – created by turning amino acids’ molecular vibrations into sound – allows computer algorithms to better interpret proteins’ design principles and even invent new sequences.