I have been blogging on and off these past couple years about science and art, art and science. And all of the sudden I came across this phenomenal art form by Ph.D. student, Maja Klevanski, as depicted in a feature story in the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology’s Today magazine (see page 12 of the PDF).
But I do not want to be a spoiler and ruin the fun: please, open her website and see for yourself, how protein structures can be ‘double entendres!’ Hint: don’t miss the “sick rat enjoying a piece of tart!”
About Steve Caplan
I am a Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska where I mentor a group of students, postdoctoral fellows and researchers working on endocytic protein trafficking. My first lablit novel, "Matter Over Mind," is about a biomedical researcher seeking tenure and struggling to overcome the consequences of growing up with a parent suffering from bipolar disorder. Lablit novel #2, "Welcome Home, Sir," published by Anaphora Literary Press, deals with a hypochondriac principal investigator whose service in the army and post-traumatic stress disorder actually prepare him well for academic, but not personal success. Novel #3, "A Degree of Betrayal," is an academic murder mystery. "Saving One" is my most recent novel set at the National Institutes of Health. Now IN PRESS: Today's Curiosity is Tomorrow's Cure: The Case for Basic Biomedical Research (CRC PRESS, 2021).
https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/entity/author/B006CSULBW?
All views expressed are my own, of course--after all, I hate advertising.
Thanks for bringing this to a wider audience. As far as scientists are concerned there really are not “two cultures”. One wonders whether an artist without a background in science would also have seen the art in these protein structures.
Glad to bring it to a wider audience, as this is really a very imaginative and unique art form!
As to whether an artist who isn’t a scientist would have seen the art in the structures–I’m the wrong person to ask! My understanding is that the artist spends a good deal of time rotating and looking at the structures to seek out the art in them, so my guess is that the scientific background is key–at least technically.