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Future doctors could monitor health through music of the patients' genes
In this representation of genetic activity, the circles are genes, the lines signify relationships, and colors indicate genes that have similar functions.
They use mathematical techniques, in the case of colon cancer, for instance, to reduce the data from a group of nearly 10,000 genes down to just four combinations that they say represent virtually all the variability in the data.
Each combination is then assigned a note. When three or more notes are played at the same time, they become a chord. When those chords are played across time, they become music.
The researchers assign a harmonious sound to a normal, healthy gene network. When there are deviations in the genes' behavior -- such as the presence of disease -- the music sounds inharmonious.