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."