Science illustrated.
Cartoons help folks get the picture
April 13, 2008
McCLATCHY TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE
OSAKA, Japan - Visualization of scientific ideas in cartoon form has
proved effective in helping people understand the advanced concepts
and technologies.
Where else but in Japan?
It was here that a newly discovered enzyme was made into a cartoon
character by a professional animator.
And a Kyoto University professor's research on induced pluripotent
stem cells, or iPS cells, was carried out after an illustration he
made persuaded an independent administrative agency to fund the
research.
This use of the visual in science education will be aided by the
Science Visualization Society of Japan, a just-established
organization of scientists and other experts.
Professor Mitsutoshi Seto of Hamamatsu University School of Medicine,
who specializes in brain science, discovered an enzyme that erases
unnecessary short memories in order to prevent abnormalities caused
by memory overflow.
He named the enzyme The Scrapper.
Seto, who was a fan of cartoonist Hirohiko Araki's Jojo no Kimyona
Boken series ("Jojo's Bizarre Adventure") featured in Shueisha Inc.'s
Weekly Jump, asked Araki to make the enzyme into a cartoon. Araki
created The Scrapper, a supernatural being that attaches deletion
signs to other brain elements.
The Scrapper made the cover of Cell, a prestigious science journal in
the United States, in September. Since then, Seto has received
numerous lecture requests from universities and other organizations.
Students have welcomed the cartoon explanations, saying they helped
them understand how the enzyme functions.
Shinya Yamanaka, the professor in Kyoto who has produced iPS cells
that behave like embryonic stem cells but aren't, drew an
illustration showing that embryonic stem cell research had been held
back because it was necessary to destroy human embryos in the process.
In his illustration, a human embryo is shedding tears.
Showing the artwork during a research-grant interview, Yamanaka
insisted that it was necessary to produce a new type of cell to
replace embryonic stem cells. His application was accepted.
"I did my best in drawing the picture, hoping it would help people
understand the point of my research," Yamanaka said.
Noted Seto: "One picture has the power to change a difficult lecture
into a fun and enjoyable lesson. Images are important in expressing
scientific ideas, as there will be more and more occasions for
scientists to explain what their research is about."
http://www.philly.
ated_.html
«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
StemCells subscribers may also be interested in these sites:
Children's Neurobiological Solutions
http://www.CNSfoundation.org/
Cord Blood Registry
http://www.CordBlood.com/at.cgi?a=150123
The CNS Healing Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CNS_Healing
____________________________________________
«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch format to Traditional
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe
__,_._,___
