List of chromosomes » Chromosome 9
Art and bioinformatics
Diverted programs
With the novel advances in biotechnology, a new generation of artists is rising. In particular those who find inspiration in bioinformatics tools to create works of art on the theme of proteins and DNA.
Sculpted proteins
Proteins are so small that no scientific instrument has yet been able to reveal them in their intimacy, so to speak. No instrument can take a photo of a protein and unveil its curves, texture and shape. So scientists have to resort to indirect methods to imagine a protein’s architecture. Bioinformatics is able to predict a protein’s shape according to the protein’s composition. Likewise, an artist can sculpt a protein by using the same programs.
|
The woven genome
DNA is a succession of four molecules that bind together to form a defined combination. Imagine that for each of the four molecules a different coloured silk thread is chosen. The DNA can then be translated into a tangle of silk threads. And in the process, weave a piece of DNA, a gene and even a genome.
|
External links
Artist: Julian Voss Andreae
Bioinformatics easy: A gallery of proteins in 3D (PDB)
Protein Spotlight – comics: What’s a protein?
