DNA carries genetic information for the development and function of organism such as humans, plants and Fungi. A DNA sequence is a long, continuous chain made up of only four chemical bases referred to as G, A, T, or C. They repeat in various defined patterns to make up a gene.

Many genes are identical from person to person, plant to plant or from fungus to fungus. But sometimes one of the chemical bases in the sequence is different from the usual pattern – could be a mutation. These changes could create advantages so that the fungus can infect other plant species.

In this video I describe an audio tool, to help with the analyses of DNA, any changes in a repetitive DNA sequence due to mutation give rise to a distinctive change in sound. In real life of course, DNA sequences are more complex than repetitive DNA. Cells follow the rules of gene expression. For starters, DNA sequences contain codons.

A codon is a sequence of three bases which together make up a unit of DNA information. One codon directs one building block known as an “amino-acid” residue in a protein. Special codons mark the start and stop points of genes.

During sonification these special codons are used to start and stop the audio. It is not intended that you can identify a codon from a particular musical note, however, the landscape of the audio is characteristic of the underlying DNA sequence. Audio inspection together with visual inspection of DNA sequences can be used to unlock their secrets.

In this example I show how to sonify DNA to create audio, and I discuss how this can be used as the basic of music creation – a powerful tool to engage people with the science.