Ed Himelblau is a biologist and a cartoonist
🔬Biology
Can you find all 9 researchers in this cartoon?
Much of modern biology is accomplished by large, collaborative teams. Here are the 55 authors from a 2022 paper in the American Journal of Human Genetics.
Author lists of this length are common. All these people made a significant contribution to the project. This group appears to be a fairly international - this is also typical of research today. Projects span institutions and borders. I like to imagine them all jammed into one tiny lab.
(Are you wondering about the scientific paper with the most authors?) (94 words)
✍🏻 Drawing
Here’s the original from 2007.
Clearly, I was trying to imitate The New Yorker ink-wash style (a few drops of ink in water, applied to the paper with a brush). My attempt in Photoshop looks pretty fake. The new version uses a real ink wash. After drawing the lines in waterproof ink, I soaked the paper (literally soaked it in the sink under running water), used clamps to hold it to a board, then painted on the ink wash when the paper was almost dry.
I thought the joke worked better if the speaker was actually working in the lab - like if she has recently joined the lab. That change led to a (maybe?) better caption.
For the redraw I kept many of the little details (sitting on the fridge, under the sink, using a turned-over trash can as a bench).
These days, I always scan my drawings and then flip them using photoshop (or just flip them over onto a light box). This helps to identify problems with proportions and perspective. There are LOTS of issues with the original.
Thanks for reading!