There is no sound in space, but there is music (and genomes)
contents
The discs contain the full genome of a female and male as well as the human proteome and metabolome.
The genome sequence is organized into panels of 203 × 203 pixels. Each panel contains 202 × 202 = 40,804 data pixels. The last row and column are dedicated to error correction — registering whether the sum of a row or column pixels is even.
Each disc contains about about 70,000 such panels comprising about 2,800,000,000 pixels. For every 1,024 panels, there is an error check panel that works like the row/column error check except that it sums across panels.
Each base is encoded by two pixels so each panel stores 20,402 bases. Each disc therefore stores about 1.4 Gb of sequence. This capacity is just enough to store the fully sequenced haploid genome of an individual on two discs.
The proteome is stored in smaller panels of size `n` × 32 where `n=2-32`. These panels are placed near the edge of the disc to make full use of the space on the disc.
The proteome ends close to the start of the last disc. From this point on, the small panels are used to store the chemical structures of compounds that participate in metabolic reactions.
Each compound is a jigsaw puzzle — its structure is stored across one or more panels and it's up to you to piece the panels together. Hint: the first panel of a structure has its pixels inverted.
Each disc also includes a jigsaw puzzle — four in total.
You put it together. And by you I mean they. And by they I mean (possibly) aliens.
If you like these puzzles, see my 1-bit 10 gigapixel space maps.
The first female disc has a moon map puzzle. The “She looks like the Moon” is a reference to Like the Moon by Future Islands.
The second female disc has the solar system. Not everything in it but closeish to it.
The north celestial hemisphere is the puzzle on the first male disc. Hence, ‘No Man's Sky’. Except that there is a man — on the disc. But it's not his sky. This is what I meant.
‘My God, it's also full of stars.’ Keep coruscatling, little buddies!
The first disc also contains a collection of 124 artworks by children undergoing treatment in Paris hospitals.
This was organized by Jean-Philippe Uzan who is part of the Les p'tits cueilleurs d'étoiles program (The Little Star Gatherers), designed to bring space to hospitalized children.
You can browse the full gallery.
There are many other curious things to find on the first disc. Here are some of them.
Nature Biotechnology cover
My cover design on the 7 April 2026 Nature Biotechnology issue shows the dendrogram that represents a cluster of uniquely expressed (or downregulated) genes in human naive stem cells induced from such cells. Within each dendrogram block, the genomic barcode sequence (sampled from Supplementary Table 1) is depicted with a Code 39 barcode. The highlighted barcode is one of those used for cell isolation.
Ishiguro S. et al. A multi-kingdom genetic barcoding system for precise clone isolation (2026) Nature Biotechnology 44:616–629.
Browse my gallery of cover designs.
Happy 2026 π Day—
Art for the 5%
Celebrate π Day (March 14th) and enjoy the art — but only if you're part of the 5%.
Go ahead, see what you can't see.
Ishihara's Tests for Colour Deficiency
Authentic and accurate images of Ishihara's test plates photographed (and lovingly color-corrected) from the 38-plate Ishihara's Tests for Colour Deficiency.
I also provide the position, size, and color of each circle on each test plate.
Symmetric alternatives to the ordinary least squares regression
What immortal hand or eye, could frame thy fearful symmetry? — William Blake, "The Tyger"
This month, we look at symmetric regression, which, unlike simple linear regression, it is reversible — remaining unaltered when the variables are swapped.
Simple linear regression can summarize the linear relationship between two variables `X` and `Y` — for example, when `Y` is considered the response (dependent) and `X` the predictor (independent) variable.
However, there are times when we are not interested (or able) to distinguish between dependent and independent variables — either because they have the same importance or the same role. This is where symmetric regression can help.
Luca Greco, George Luta, Martin Krzywinski & Naomi Altman (2025) Points of significance: Symmetric alternatives to the ordinary least squares regression. Nat. Methods 22:1610–1612.
Beyond Belief Campaign BRCA Art
Fuelled by philanthropy, findings into the workings of BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes have led to groundbreaking research and lifesaving innovations to care for families facing cancer.
This set of 100 one-of-a-kind prints explore the structure of these genes. Each artwork is unique — if you put them all together, you get the full sequence of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 proteins.
Propensity score weighting
The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. —Mr. Spock (Star Trek II)
This month, we explore a related and powerful technique to address bias: propensity score weighting (PSW), which applies weights to each subject instead of matching (or discarding) them.
Kurz, C.F., Krzywinski, M. & Altman, N. (2025) Points of significance: Propensity score weighting. Nat. Methods 22:638–640.