“I got the sequence from a database, analyzed it on the computer, and published in an on-line journal. The whole experience has left me feeling empty.”
Biology
In 1999, when I first drew this cartoon (see below), biologists were realizing that computers would play a huge role in life science research. The genomes of plants and animals, including humans, were being sequenced and DNA databases grew. I joked that we might spend more time on the computer than at our dusty, cobweb-covered bench.
I didn’t have the foresight to realize that what seemed like a crazy notion would become reality 20 years later. Today, many biologists work computationally and make important discoveries without traditional lab work. In the past, experiments were done ‘in vivo’ - in living organisms - or ‘in vitro’ - in test tubes. Today ‘in silico’ experiments - done on computers - are common. (120 words)
Here’s a cartoon I did for an article about computational biology that hints at the same theme. (The micropipette on the floor is a common tool in biology and chemistry. I should do a whole post on micropipettes some day...)
Drawing
Here’s the original version from 1999:
In redrawing this cartoon, I learned to draw cobwebs and spiders. The trick to cobwebs is to pick a point where they are anchored then draw lines radiating out from that point. I’m happy with the spider in the new version - having it hang upside down was a good choice.
In 1999, I felt it was necessary to specify in the caption that the sequence was analyzed by “a computer program” and the manuscript was submitted “over the internet” to a journal. Neither of these practices were common at the time and I must have felt the need to spell it out.
As with a lot of these re-drawings, I try to push the setting, expressions, and actions a little further. The scientists in the new version look much more concerned and the mess is much messier. (It is possible to overdo it, however. For evidence, see a rejected draft below where I tried including stalactites and stalagmites.)
Here are some alternative captions:
“This will be your bench. Sorry I didn’t have a chance to clean it up before you got here.”
“The last entry in the lab notebook was, ‘Abandon hope all ye who enter here’. ”
Thanks for reading!