The hidden structures of music are universal patterns of nature – and they can help us create new materials like artificial spider silk

Classical music: just one form of the universal patterns that make the blueprint of our world (Image: Erik Jacobs)

NATURE is rich in structure, which defines the properties not only of the tiniest pieces of matter, but of galaxies and the universe itself. That structure explains both the sound of music, and what is embodied in our DNA.

Our world consists of complex hierarchies of about 100 different chemical elements, and it is the arrangement of these elements into molecules that gives rise to the rich set of materials around us – from the sugar molecules in the food we …