COVID : AFM & DNA
All sound heard in this composition is processed AFM data and DNA sonification…
an audiovisual composition exploring nanoscale contact: towards transmission of code
SOURCES
Original AFM audio data (audification): By Felix Rico & Claire Valotteau, DyNaMo Lab ( INSERM, Aix-Marseille Université). Captured via Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), measuring cantilever deflections during nanoscale rupture events between SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins and ACE2 receptor-mimicking surfaces.
https://sites.google.com/view/fm4b-lab
RNA Sequences (sonifications):
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SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein gene (Wuhan-Hu-1 strain)
NCBI Reference Sequence: NC_045512.2 (nucleotides 21563–25384)
Introduced around 0:38 sec in the composition, panned to the right, rendered with sharp percussive timbre.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nuccore/NC_045512.2 -
Human ACE2 gene mRNA
NCBI Reference Sequence: NM_021804
Introduced around 0:42 sec in the composition, panned to the left, rendered with organ-like tones.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nuccore/NM_021804
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Visual Source (manipulated): Original video “Conditional motion – SARS-CoV-2,” from Wikimedia Commons. (Adapted edited and manipulated into current form)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SARS-CoV-2.webm
CONCEPT
This piece connects molecular contact and genetic transcription—deflections caused by nanonewton-scale forces and genetic codes transcribed as nucleotides—to reflect on how life unfolds through interactions we don’t easily see but whose impact we may certainly feel.
It meditates on molecular dances at the interface of the virus (spike protein) and the human (surface/ACE2 mimic). The AFM data capture these fleeting contact events: force-based deflections recorded via cantilever movement.
Often analyzed as visual force–time curves, here the AFM acoustic recordings of cantilever movement are sculpted into musical gestures.
The jagged disruptions in molecular contact in AFM measurements versus the steady sonified stream of genetic transcription are blurred in compositional manipulations. A dialogue between mechanics and code, entangling destruction and negotiation.
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In a parallel, separate work using the same AFM rupture recording, I drive processed AFM audio through a subwoofer platform layered with dilatant (shear-thickening) non-Newtonian fluid. As the subwoofer vibrates, the fluid responds in pulsing, solidifying shapes—an embodied metaphor for rupture and resonance. This piece forms part of my broader VIBROACOUSTIC DATA series… [click here for more detailed info.]
The project includes interactive participatory public events (@IMéRA) exploring making and activating dilatant-covered subwoofers with audified data…
PERSONAL REFLECTION
While preparing this webpage and descriptions about nanoscale rupture and viral code, I tested positive for COVID-19. A strangely recursive moment: as I explored sound shaped by viral molecular contact, the virus made contact with me. Creating a sense of embodiment is a thread in my data translation work, but one pursued through metaphor, not literal infection. And yet, at the core of the metaphor lies something real: molecular narratives are not abstractions, they move through us, reshape us. Within this dynamic, the conceptual scale of the work gives way to the felt scale of breath, fatigue, and interoceptive sensation. It reframes listening, not just as translation, but as attention to my body’s own signals.