Dear friends,
As usual, feel free to use and repost. Just cite “copyright 2016 by Russ Hodge” and link to this site.
Category: Molecular biology cartoons
New cartoons!
Today’s topic: SARCOMERES, the piston-like structures in striated muscle that permit voluntary movement. Here’s an electron microscope image and diagram of their structure:
And now the process of molecular assembly, which doesn’t always go so smoothly:
Cartoon special: The Case of the Kidnaped Co-factor
A Wnt Signaling Mystery
copyright 2016 by Russ Hodge
dedicated, of course, to Walter Birchmeier, Grand Guru of Wnt
New cartoons!!
This week’s themes: When histone tails order pizza, protein-protein interactions, and a ride on the secretory pathway! Feel free to repost and use, just cite copyright 2016 Russ Hodge and link to this website.
New cartoon posting: Genetic counselling, a mid-life crisis for non-coding genes, etc.
Another set of new cartoons: sorry about the colors; I’ll probably rescan them again soon. The flesh tones didn’t come out well with the scanner settings. As usual, feel free to repost and use, just cite “copyright 2016 by Russ Hodge” and post a link to this site!
New cartoons: Cytokines and mitochondria
Here are two new cartoons – feel free to repost and use as you like, just cite “copyright 2016 by Russ Hodge” and add a link to this blog: www.goodsciencewriting.wordpress.com.
Cartoons: The evolution of the giraffe and a bit of Neanderthal genomics
New cartoons you can feel free to use and repost – especially around your institutes and to any colleagues that might be interested in such things – by citing “copyright 2016 by Russ Hodge, goodsciencewriting.wordpress.com.” The first set comes from a new series I’m calling: “MISHAPS from the evolutionary workbench.”
In the following cartoon, resemblance to any living person (for example, my friend Thomas Wienker in his younger days) is completely unintentional.
More molecular biology cartoons
This week’s themes:
Structural biology, ion channels, and small-molecule screening!
Same rules as always: Feel free to use or repost, if you accompany the image with the citation:
copyright 2016 by Russ Hodge, http://www.goodsciencewriting.wordpress.com.
100th blog post!!! New cartoons
This is the 100th post on my blog. To celebrate, here is a sample of a new series of cartoons called “Future Nobel Prize winners in the 2nd grade,” followed by a few singles…
Feel free to repost and use, accompanied by the text “copyright 2016 by Russ Hodge” and a link to this blog!
And now some singles…
Molecular biology cartoons
Today I’m adding a new feature to the blog: Cartoons on themes related to molecular biology. Scientists, teachers, and others are welcome to download and use the images posted on the blog provided they are always accompanied by the following attribution:
copyright 2016 by Russ Hodge
These are usually “insider” jokes that require knowing something about biology, so I will accompany each with a very short text (and yes, having to explain a joke is the quickest way to kill humour… Ah, well…)
(Click on the image to enlarge in a new tab)
Chromatin is the form of DNA found in the cell nucleus, with a lot of proteins and other molecules attached to it. During phases of the cell’s life when genes are active, chromatin appears in a loose form – like a bunch of yarn spilled onto the floor. (It’s actually highly organised and scientists are currently learning a lot about how the locations of strands are controlled.) Before cell division, chromatin condenses into a tightly packed form – the chromosomes. After cell division it expands again, giving other molecules access to genes so that they can be transcribed into RNA molecules.
Mitosis is a crucial step in cell division. It takes place after the cell’s pairs of chromosomes have been copied. They are split into two equal sets that will form the genomes of the two new daughter cells. This requires pulling them to opposite sides of the cell. Usually this happens when microtubule “tow-lines” reach from the chromosomes to a cluster of molecules at either pole, called centrosomes. Disruptions of this process can lead to daughter cells with an unequal number of chromosomes, a condition called aneuploidy.
