Musical scientists
The polymerase chain reaction (PCR), a method for amplifying fragments of DNA, might not seem like the obvious topic for a song. Yet a surprisingly professional ‘The PCR Song’ by Scientists for Better PCR has a five-star rating and has been viewed nearly half a million times.
In fact, the song owes its existence to a company selling PCR equipment. Several other videos tread similar territory, including an imaginative attempt to make pippetting sexy.
Viewers may also enjoy a reworking of Village People’s ‘YMCA’ advertising enzymes, and a frankly bizarre hair metal-inspired advertisement for cell monitoring equipment.
The above are the work of US producers. Europe has answered back with ‘The Large Hadron Rap’, which, remarkably, has accumulated more than 5 million views.
While the above all benefit from the resources available to large companies and international projects, almost anyone can now generate material. There is no shortage of musical science on YouTube, including a love song about DNA replication and many others of variable quality.
Finally, a catchy and visually striking work, ‘Richard Dawkins - Beware the Believers’, is well worth a view. You can then join the debate about whose side the producers are on.
