Guest post by Irene Yan. GSA-Art features the creative works of scientists, particularly geneticists. Read more about the series from GSA President Stan Fields. If you would like to submit your own work or nominate someone else’s, please send an email GenesToGenomes@genetics-gsa.org with “GSA-Art” in the subject line.
My family is very into comics and cartoons. My mother introduced us to MAD magazine, New Yorker cartoons and my father supplied us with a steady stream of Donald Duck and Doraemon comics. Nowadays we have great Science-friendly comics such as PhD comics and Far Side. Comics and cartoons not only are fun but often also present a fresh point of view. As such, they are a good reminder of what drove most of us into science in the first place. The additional advantage about drawing cartoons is that boring meetings and seminars suddenly become an interesting source of inspiration. But—a word of warning—doodling intensely during small committee meetings is frowned upon. Snorting and chuckling while you do it is definitely a no-no.
About the author: Irene Yan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology at the University of São Paulo.