If you’ve read ‘Why this Blog’ in Musings, you know I was in the biomedical research field for over 30 years. I was always fascinated by the beauty of science at the microscopic level and still am. Advances in imaging and computer 3D modeling based on scientific data have been astounding. To reveal what can’t be seen by the naked eye does require some artistic liberties. Colors, for example, don’t ‘exist’ at the atomic and molecular levels when images are ‘seen’ by electron detectors. Art and science merge to display these molecular images in more relatable forms to us. But in science, artistic interpretation must be fundamentally based on reproducible experimental data.

I was struck over the last few days how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting art through the real need for social distancing. Museums are cutting back on public activities and even closing their doors altogether around the world and more locally. I imagine local galleries are or will soon begin to feel the impact of fewer people venturing out in public (note: giving away toilet paper may be a way to bring patrons to your gallery).

Cartoon images of COVID-19 are on display during the nightly news, CDC website and social media (some memes are quite funny). I thought this might be an opportunity to comment about these images. But first, how did COVID-19 get its name? The virus was isolated from members of a family with severe respiratory symptoms who became ill after visiting Wuhan China. Based on gene sequencing, a novel coronavirus was discovered (Chan et al., Lancet, 395:514-523, 2020). It is the 3D structure of the virus that gives it its name – corona – because of the crown like structures that can be seen under the microscope. It was originally called 2019-novel coronavirus but it is now called COVID-19 (COronaVIrus Disease 2019). Artists ‘colorized’ the 3D cartoons not to just make it more interesting but to highlight the various components of the virus so that scientists are better able to study it. Yes, it is an artist’s interpretation but one based on corroborated scientific evidence.

It is difficult not to appreciate the beauty in the structure of COVID-19 even as we despise what it is doing to society.

I thought another image of COVID-19, the molecular model of one of the ‘crowns’, was particularly beautiful from sculptural and scientific points of view. Scientists from the University of Austin used cryo-electron microscopy to ‘see’ the crowns magnified 22,500 times (Wrapp et al., Science, 367:1260-1263, 2020). Then, using computer modeling and the chemical structure of the protein, the 3D image was colorized to indicate important components of the protein (for example, protein regions that could be used to develop a vaccine).

I find the image quite stunning. It is difficult not to appreciate the beauty in the structure of COVID-19 even as we despise what it is doing to society.

Wait – doesn’t that still meet the definition of art?