Molecular biology professor and artist David Goodsell has no trouble finding art in the human body. His hand-drawn watercolor illustrations explode with color while offering his visual interpretation of bacteria, viruses, and human cells.


Goodsell is currently an associate professor at the Scripps Research Institute, and he's the author of the book The Machinery of Life, which contains many of his striking images. They look far more like a journey into a psychedelic garden than like the bland illustrations in so many biology textbooks. It's well worth perusing Goodsell's site for more of his paintings. Images like his Inside a Eukaryotic Cell use multiple canvases to create an "infinite canvas" feel, and offer a unique perspective on cellular structures.


David Goodsell [via Radiolab]

Top image: Macrophage Bacterium.

Blood


Cytochrome C in Apoptosis




Cytotoxic T Cell




DNA Polymerase




Hemostasis




Hepatitis B