You’re going to hear something in this episode of Raise the Line that you most likely have never heard before: what DNA sounds like. Our guests today all had an interest in musically representing DNA for different reasons, and have come together to pursue this theme as a way to raise awareness for rare diseases. Dr. Aditi Kantipuly had used the arts once before to achieve that goal by writing the children’s book The Zebra Alphabet. After coming across music based on genetic sequences composed by University of Chicago professor Stephen Taylor, a new idea formed. “Can we make a song for rare genetic conditions?” She expanded the possibilities by connecting with Casey McPherson, a Texas-based musician who had written a song based on his daughter Rose’s rare gene mutation. How do they do it? “DNA consists of four letters -- A, T, C, and G -- and you can map those to anything,” explains Taylor. McPherson built melodies based on the amino acids involved in Rose’s condition. “Being a pop artist, I was looking for patterns. I was looking for motifs.” The aim is to engage people emotionally and intellectually in the fight against rare diseases. As McPherson puts it: “We have the technology to cure many of these diseases, we just don't have the structures to do it at scale. Music is a huge way of inspiring us to think differently.” Don’t miss this fascinating discussion with host Michael Carrese on a unique intersection of art and science.

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Using Music Based on DNA to Drive Rare Disease Awareness - Dr. Aditi Kantipuly, Professor Stephen Taylor and Casey McPherson