The Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) and the EKHO group of the University of Barcelona will participate in the Sónar+D 2026 festival with “HÉLIX. Genomic variations”, an innovative project that has converted genomic and epigenetic data into musical compositions through artificial intelligence models. The initiative, which will be exhibited on June 19 at the Llotja de Mar, proposes a new way of exploring and communicating biological complexity, placing biomedical research in dialogue with the arts and creative technologies.
The project is the result of collaboration between the Professor of Music and Aesthetics and researcher at the UB, Magda Polo Pujadas, and the IDIBELL and ICO researcher Miquel Àngel Pujana, an expert in genomics and cancer. The proposal investigates how the structures present in the genome can be translated into musical structures without losing their internal coherence, generating auditory experiences capable of revealing patterns and relationships that usually remain hidden in scientific data.
HÉLIX is based on an innovative hypothesis: that genomic data can be transformed into music while maintaining its own organization and logic, and that this sound translation can become a new way of accessing scientific knowledge. The project is also inspired by evidence that human musicality is partially conditioned by genetic and epigenetic factors, with an estimated heritability of between 40% and 70%.
To achieve these goals, the team has developed a system based on unsupervised artificial intelligence models capable of identifying latent patterns in biological data and establishing correspondences with musical parameters such as rhythm, harmony, texture or shape. The result is a compositional architecture built from an evolutionary logic that combines a common base with multiple variations, evoking the same diversification processes present in biology.
The presentation of HÉLIX at the Sónar+D festival highlights the potential of interdisciplinary research to generate new languages for representing knowledge and new experiences of scientific dissemination. The project sits at the intersection between genomics, artificial intelligence, music, and the humanities, and opens up new avenues for interpreting, communicating, and experiencing scientific information.
With this participation, IDIBELL and the UB reinforce their commitment to knowledge transfer and the exploration of innovative formats that bring biomedical research and the arts closer to society, promoting dialogue between the scientific community, the cultural sector and citizens.
About the University of Barcelona
Founded in 1450, the University of Barcelona is the leading public university in Catalonia and one of the most prestigious institutions of higher education in Spain. It is the only university in Spain that is part of the League of European Research Universities (LERU), which brings together the twenty-four most important university research centres on the continent, and according to the QS World University Rankings and the Times Higher Education World University Rankings is among the 160 best universities in the world.
The UB has a wide range of training courses: 74 bachelor’s degrees, 174 official university master’s degrees and 47 doctoral programmes (2024-2025 academic year). It has more than 41,000 undergraduate students and 15,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as 12,606 foreign students of 145 nationalities.
As a public institution, the UB, focused on academic excellence, is committed to continuing to provide the next generations of citizens – professionals, researchers, entrepreneurs, leaders – with the ability to work at the highest level anywhere in the world.
About IDIBELL
The Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) is a research centre created in 2004 and specialising in cancer, neuroscience, translational medicine and regenerative medicine. It has a team of more than 1,500 professionals who, from 73 research groups, publish more than 1,400 scientific articles a year. L’IDIBELL is participated by the Bellvitge University Hospital and the Viladecans Hospital of the Catalan Health Institute, the Catalan Institute of Oncology, the University of Barcelona and the City Council of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat.
IDIBELL is a member of the Campus d’Excelencia Internacional of the University of Barcelona HUBc and is part of the CERCA institution of the Generalitat de Catalunya. In 2009 it became one of the first five Spanish research centres accredited as a health research institute by the Carlos III Health Institute. In addition, it is part of the HR Excellence in Research program of the European Union and is a member of EATRIS and REGIC. Since 2018, IDIBELL has been an Accredited Centre of the AECC Scientific Foundation (FCAECC).