Neurocomic

Following my list of resources for fresh neuroscientists, I figured I’d share something for those interested in exploring neuroscience but not quite ready to pick up a textbook, namely neurocomic.

Neurocomic is a Wellcome Trust supported project that aims to explain neuroscience ideas to a lay audience using comics. The brainchild of neuroscientists Hana Ros (UCL) and Matteo Farinella (who is also the artist), the story follows a man as he is trapped inside a brain and journeys to escape. The quest takes him through neuron forests, distinct brain regions and visual metaphors of common concepts in neuroscience and psychology, encountering various beasts and scientists along the way. Judging by its reviews, most people find it accessible and accurate, if a bit short (and short on women). Personally, I am particularly enthused by the medium.

The process and ideas behind the project are explained in the video below, and might be of interest to potential readers and to researchers considering tools for effective science communication.

Using illustrations to communicate science (or any information, really) can be powerful. I tend to draw quite a lot in my work, and find that visualising problems helps me work through them faster and see connections that might not be immediately apparent. It works great as a study method too (see this paper for example), helping students remember content better. As for communicating information, it is superb. I have a list of favourite science comics that have introduced me to new concepts more than once (I am particularly looking at you, xkcd, and your lovely comic explanation wiki). While three-panel strips rarely provide a full picture of a scientific concept, they can certainly offer a brief and memorable introduction. Similarly, neurocomic’s 150 pages are not enough to encompass the entire history and science of brain research, but it is a good place to start to get a flavour for some of the ideas in the field.

Neurocomic is on twitter @neurocomic

My top 7 science-themed comics

There are quite a few science-themed online comics out there, many of which are excellent. I thought I would share my favourites here, many of which are comics that have followed me for years, from the early days of PhD research, thesis writing, paper writing, paper rejection, job hunting, job rejection, late days in the lab, early days in the pub, new jobs, old jobs, new gross fluids, old gross fluids, data that doesn’t make sense and data that makes even less sense – in short, all the crazy of science.

In no particular order:

XKCD (https://xkcd.com/). XKCD is a comic about math, sarcasm, romance and language. I have seen perhaps a smidge more sarcasm than romance, but this may just be my interpretation. Nevertheless, XKCD is fantastic. It is written by a physics graduate and manages to be both funny and educational (for us non-physics people) at the same time. (It offers explanations: http://www.explainxkcd.com!)

Red Pen/Black Pen (https://redpenblackpen.tumblr.com/). Home of the oft-shared peer-review car illustration, Red Pen/Black Pen takes a slightly cynical view on the world of academia and has a hint of a computational biology angle. Also on Twitter as @redpenblackpen.

The Awkward Yeti (http://theawkwardyeti.com/). Features the cutest gallbladder in comics. This is a anatomy/medicine-themed comic which follows the eponymous awkward yeti, Lars, and his organs as they deal with social situations, anxiety, bodily functions and bodily malfunctions. There is even a spinoff, called Heart and Brain.

Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal (https://www.smbc-comics.com/). SMBC is a quirky and occasionally sciency comic, covering anything from religion to economics to astronomy in daily, stand-alone strips. Its vast archive is enough to lose all productivity for at least a week.

The Upturned Microscope (https://theupturnedmicroscope.com). Written by a cell biology PhD, hence rife with funny lab mishaps and a good dose of cynicism. For someone who is not used to working in a white coat, the Upturned Microscope is a great view into a world of reagents gone wrong.

Piled Higher and Deeper (http://phdcomics.com/comics.php). Also called PhD comics (geddit?), as it revolves around the ups and downs and potential free food of graduate life, with a few post doc experiences thrown in for good measure. This is the place to go if you are struggling with the thesis and want to know that you’re not alone.

Bird and Moon (http://www.birdandmoon.com/). I have not read as much Bird and Moon as I would like, having only come to it in the past year. It is a beautifully drawn comic by Rosemary Mosco, a field naturalist, that centers on the weird and wonderful aspects of nature and wildlife.

(UPDATE: here is a recently published paper on drawing science comics, titled
“Ten simple rules for drawing scientific comics” by Jason McDermott (Red Pen/Black Pen), Matthew Partridge (Errant Science) and Yana Bromberg:  http://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005845)

Brainstem? Brainstem!

Revisiting brain regions, courtesy  of Pinky and the Brain.

 

(Incidentally, I named my first neuroscience review paper “Dyspnoea and the Brain” partly in honour of this comic, fully expecting the title to be dismissed by colleagues and journal alike. It wasn’t. Nobody has spotted the connection yet, sadly.)