Linda Long is a

biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...

and musician, who has combined these two fields to create what she terms molecular music. Long worked as a biochemist and a Research Fellow in

Complementary Medicine Alternative medicine is any practice that aims to achieve the healing effects of medicine despite lacking biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or evidence from clinical trials. Complementary medicine (CM), complementary and alt ...

Exeter University , mottoeng = "We Follow the Light" , established = 1838 - St Luke's College1855 - Exeter School of Art1863 - Exeter School of Science 1955 - University of Exeter (received royal charter) , type = Public , ...

, 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 The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB) existed from its founding as the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain in 1841 until 2010. The word "Royal" was added to its name in 1988. It was the statutory regulatory and professional ...

. 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 (formerly NESTA, National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) is an innovation foundation based in the UK. The organisation acts through a combination of programmes, investment, policy and research, and the formation of part ...

. 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.

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 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: #

Pokeweed ''Phytolacca americana'', also known as American pokeweed, pokeweed, poke sallet, dragonberries, and inkberry, is a poisonous, herbaceous perennial plant in the pokeweed family Phytolaccaceae. This pokeweed grows . It has simple leaves on green ...

Phytolacca americana ''Phytolacca americana'', also known as American pokeweed, pokeweed, poke sallet, dragonberries, and inkberry, is a poisonous, herbaceous perennial plant in the pokeweed family Phytolaccaceae. This pokeweed grows . It has simple leaves on green ...

'' pokeweed antiviral protein #

White mustard White mustard (''Sinapis alba'') is an annual plant of the family Brassicaceae. It is sometimes also referred to as ''Brassica alba'' or ''B. hirta''. Grown for its seeds, used to make the condiment mustard, as fodder crop, or as a green manure ...

'' Sinapsis alba''

myrosinase Myrosinase (, ''thioglucoside glucohydrolase'', ''sinigrinase'', and ''sinigrase'') is a family of enzymes involved in plant defense against herbivores, specifically the mustard oil bomb. The three-dimensional structure has been elucidated and is ...

Parsley Parsley, or garden parsley (''Petroselinum crispum'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae that is native to the central and eastern Mediterranean region (Sardinia, Lebanon, Israel, Cyprus, Turkey, southern Italy, Greece, Por ...

'' Petroselinum crispum''

plastocyanin Plastocyanin is a copper-containing protein that mediates electron-transfer. It is found in a variety of plants, where it participates in photosynthesis. The protein is a prototype of the blue copper proteins, a family of intensely blue-colored m ...

(electron transport protein) #

Clover Clover or trefoil are common names for plants of the genus ''Trifolium'' (from Latin ''tres'' 'three' + ''folium'' 'leaf'), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume or pea family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus ...

Trifolium repens ''Trifolium repens'', the white clover, is a herbaceous perennial plant in the bean family Fabaceae (otherwise known as Leguminosae). It is native to Europe, including the British Isles,Clapham, A.R., Tutin, T.G. and Warburg., E.F. 1968. ''Excursio ...

cyanogenic β-glucosidase Cyanide is a naturally occurring, rapidly acting, toxic chemical that can exist in many different forms. In chemistry, a cyanide () is a chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of a ...

# Jimson weed ''

Datura stramonium ''Datura stramonium'', known by the common names thorn apple, jimsonweed (jimson weed), devil's snare, or devil's trumpet, is a poisonous flowering plant of the nightshade family Solanaceae. It is a species belonging to the ''Datura'' genus a ...

'' 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. # Absorb and Balance -

thyrotropin Thyroid-stimulating hormone (also known as thyrotropin, thyrotropic hormone, or abbreviated TSH) is a pituitary hormone that stimulates the thyroid gland to produce thyroxine (T4), and then triiodothyronine (T3) which stimulates the metabolism of ...

# Voice of Metabolism -

thyroid The thyroid, or thyroid gland, is an endocrine gland in vertebrates. In humans it is in the neck and consists of two connected lobes. The lower two thirds of the lobes are connected by a thin band of tissue called the thyroid isthmus. The thy ...

hormone # Calcium Chimes -

parathyroid Parathyroid glands are small endocrine glands in the neck of humans and other tetrapods. Humans usually have four parathyroid glands, located on the back of the thyroid gland in variable locations. The parathyroid gland produces and secretes par ...

hormone # Mineral Replenish -

guanylin Guanylin is a 15 amino acid peptide 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. Upon receptor ...

# Growth Control - somatostatin # Music for Muscle and Bone -

growth hormone Growth hormone (GH) or somatotropin, also known as human growth hormone (hGH or HGH) in its human form, is a peptide hormone that stimulates growth, cell reproduction, and cell regeneration in humans and other animals. It is thus important in h ...

# Inner Cycles -

progesterone Progesterone (P4) is an endogenous steroid and progestogen sex hormone involved in the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and embryogenesis of humans and other species. It belongs to a group of steroid hormones called the progestogens and is the m ...

receptor protein # Nurture - chorionic

gonadotrophin Gonadotropins are glycoprotein hormones secreted by gonadotropic cells of the anterior pituitary of vertebrates. This family includes the mammalian hormones follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH), the placental/chorionic ...

# Fertility -

Follitropin Gonadotropin preparations are drugs that mimic the physiological effects of gonadotropins, used therapeutically mainly as fertility medication for ovarian hyperstimulation and ovulation induction. For example, the so-called menotropins consist ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Long, Linda Academics of the University of Exeter British biochemists New-age musicians Living people Women biochemists 20th-century British women scientists 21st-century British women scientists Year of birth missing (living people)

Molecular music

Discography

See also

References