A fanciful illustration of the DNA molecules unwinding to a single-strand, twisting and moving to activate genes for gene expression.
Art and Science Manifesto
My art and science manifesto.
Sometimes people ask me, why genomics? Because biology — and the study of genomes in particular — is the transformational science of the twenty-first century.
Essential to mitigating the planet-wide damage we have wrought, floods, fires, drought. Plant biologists are working tirelessly to modify cultivated crops with gene editing tools to increase diversity, withstand environmental changes, and ensure our food supply.
Essential to protecting us from the next pandemic. What began decades ago as obscure basic research laid the foundation for today’s mRNA vaccines — genome engineering that has rescued millions.
Genomics is the defining science of our time. A keystone for civilization, science is essential to a free and democratic society, deeply personal and increasingly political.
For common folk like you and me, scientific research can be tough to understand. Art and storytelling are how I make it accessible — with line and color and a sense of wonder. American science is our national treasure. It’s under attack and needs informed, vocal citizens like us to defend it.
Science is for civilization.
From sharing data sets to interdisciplinary tools, scientific research has become an international collaboration with the best minds working across borders and languages on the hardest problems we face. It belongs to all of us because it serves all of us.
Science is personal.
Now that we have the tools to alter our basic biology, it’s more critical than ever to be science-informed and genome-literate. We need science-savvy citizens to guide ethical and inclusive policies. Future generations are counting on us to get it right.
It’s in your bloodstream, your medicine cabinet, the food on your plate. The variants in your genome are already shaping the medicine you’re prescribed and the diagnoses you’ll receive.
Science is political. So is art.
I’m a Rebel Artist for Science™ because scientific research is under attack. Funding for research at American institutes and universities has been cut, undermining disease prevention and medical innovation. The anti-science policies of climate deniers and anti-vaxxers have made science political — and the fight to support and fund research more urgent than ever.
Art is political, too. The difference now is that staying silent is its own kind of politics — the kind that lets funding vanish and labs go dark. Every canvas, every story, every sticker slapped on a laptop is a declaration of what matters. When research is defunded and evidence dismissed, making art about science isn’t decoration. It’s dissent.
We have friends everywhere.
Artists and scientists are complementary partners in understanding the world around us. Natural allies, conveying the essence of scientific research in their own language. Together, we bridge domains to illuminate hearts and minds.
Drawing and writing about the evolution and biology of genomes is my way of catching your eye — sparking curiosity, a desire to know more. I want to nudge you to understand the science of your beautiful genome. Experience the wonder of your inner biology and join the wild ride of science discovery.
The genomic revolution will change us; it changed me. I morphed into a genome explorer and fierce advocate for science. I’ve been exploring the science of our magnificent genome with art and story ever since.