The plush carpeting and large mahogany table in Andrew
Pelling’s laboratory stand in contrast to the hard, tiled
floors and countertops of most labs. But then again, the research
that goes on inside this lab isn’t very typical.
Along with his mentor, chemistry Professor Jim Gimzewski,
Pelling is revolutionizing how people see ““ and hear ““
cells.
Pelling, who will be the first person in the world to receive a
Ph.D in cell sonics, says he was certainly surprised when he first
learned the idea of hearing cells.
The theory behind the burgeoning field is actually quite simple.
Physics dictates anything that moves will make a sound. Pelling and
Gimzewski just extended this theory to cells.
Because cells move at microscopic levels, Pelling and Gimzewski
hypothesized that they too should make distinctive sounds.
“It’s the crazy idea that worked,” Pelling
said of the work, as he quickly clicked away at his computer to
find the recordings for the cells.
The first time he heard the sounds of living cells, Pelling said
he thought it was static from the machine.
But the living cells do have their own distinctive sounds
““ like a laser firing in a 1980s arcade game.
To see if sick or dead cells sound any different, Pelling threw
different toxins on the living cells to induce them to change
shape.
The cells induced with poisonous cell toxins have a high-pitched
frequency and sound like they are screaming.
While standing over his Scanning Tunneling Microscope, Pelling
explains that scientists constantly find new ways of looking at
cells. The STM revolutionized science by depicting miniscule
specimens through their shape.
Pelling hopes cell sonics will help people see by hearing, just
as the STM helped people see by feeling.
The new discovery could steer researchers to find new diagnostic
methods of finding cancer, which move and morph all the time.
Cells emit different sounds depending on whether they are
healthy, sick or even dead.
Pelling hopes that doctors will one day be able to use cell
sonics for practical purposes.
He envisions an instrument able to detect cancer cells in the
body simply by listening to them. The instrument would pass along
different areas of the body and would literally be able to hear if
the cells are sick or healthy. Doctors would be able to detect the
sick cell and treat it effectively and quickly.
But Pelling has bigger visions for cell sonics ““ outside
of the scientific community.
“It’s 2003 and we are still in a society where
everyone has to think in boxes,” said Pelling, who believes
science should fuse more with the arts and music.
His laboratory is working with the English department and the
Los Angeles County Museum of Art to present an exhibit on
nanotechnology that is both scientific and accessible to the
general public.
Pelling says he sees a lot of cross overs between art and
science and hopes that one day, the disciplines will blend more
than they do now.
When he writes his research thesis on the science of cell
sonics, he says he wants to make sure a percentage of it looks at
the upcoming art exhibit at LACMA, which is scheduled to be on
display this November.
“If you look at most Nobel laureates and artists, what
makes them great is that they all followed their intuitions,”
he added.
In addition to art, DJs and sound technicians have approached
the laboratory for information about mixing in cell sounds into
their music
“I would love to see an album with this,” Pelling
said.