Science and art

Welcome to the July edition of The Biochemist which is focussed on science and art.I come from a family of artists (including a brother who has recently dabbled in scientific art) and yet, somehow, I became a scientist. But as anybody who knows anything about art will know, historically, many great artists, such as Leonardo da Vinci, were also scientists (and in da Vinci's case an engineer and inventor). Over 500 years ago, Leonardo believed that studying science made him a better artist and that art could be used to better inform the understanding of science. Many early botanists and zoologists were also accomplished artists who used their artistic capabilities to visualize their subjects in a purely descriptive manner that was educationally important. However, "scientific" art existed long before this, as descriptive representations of animals can be seen in the form of cave paintings produced by our early ancestors over 30,000 years ago.So, science and art have been linked for centuries.Art can be used by science in essentially two ways. It can be used to illustrate specific aspects of science such as in the form of figures or cover art for scientific journals or presentations and it can also be used as a tool for engaging a wider range of non-scientific audiences. I am sure that you will have seen many examples of both types within your professional and personal lives.Increasingly, one form of art, scientific art (SciArt), has come to be seen as a mode of visual expression that draws its inspiration from a wide range of scientific disciplines and allows them to reach wider (non-scientific) audiences. This issue contains examples of a number of these different types of SciArt. The driver to combine science with art can come from the direction of either the scientist or the artist. Maybe scientists (perhaps those with an artistic bent?) look to find artists who can add a different dimension to their work. Likewise, artists may have an interest in using their artistic skills to depict a specific topic of interest or else to make science more engaging and accessible to the wider community. Funders increasingly recognize the value of art as a scientific communication tool and look favourably on the inclusion of art-based engagement and communication tools. These are very powerful mechanisms of engagement, as any of you who have visited the museums and visitor attractions, who employ them in the presence of parties of excitable school children, can attest. SciArt of this type has the potential to enthuse the next generation of bioscientists as well as to provide reinforcement of scientific education in the general population.As well as describing interactions of artists with scientists and vice versa and how these have been mutually supportive of the work and interests of both, the issue also has a number of articles that provide specific examples of how SciArt has been used for both educational and holistic well-being, outreach and engagement. Two of the articles also provide specific examples of the day-to-day roles performed by people who have chosen to pursue careers in scientific art. The specific examples here are that of a scientific illustrator and a scientific graphic designer. In both cases, the authors started their journeys as science undergraduates before combining their education with their love of art and then made it into their careers. Perhaps that is a retirement option for me in the future and perhaps I need to call my brother!I hope that you enjoy the volume and, as ever, I would welcome any feedback on its content.