Illustration
Example of individual protein:
Cascade surveillance complex of the Type I CRISPR bacterial immune system from Escherichia coli (2015). The Cascade
protein complex (blue) bound to the crRNA guide strand (orange). (
PDB: 4tvx)
Example of molecular landscape: Zika Virus (2016). Viruses top and left with envelope proteins (red), membrane proteins (magenta), lipid membrane (light purple), RNA genome (yellow), and capsid proteins (orange). Target host cell bottom-right with cell surface receptors (green). Blood plasma molecules (yellow).
Goodsell has developed a signature style of scientific drawing. He started painting early in his childhood but did not study art in college.[8] In graduate school, Goodsell became interested in scientific illustration while writing molecular graphics programs to visualize protein and DNA structures.[8]
Goodsell's signature style uses generally very flat shading, with strong and simple colour-schemes.[9] As is typical in medical illustration, the images are simplified representations of the subject that still retain accuracy of the important features.[10][11] His illustrations fall broadly into two categories: individual proteins, and cellular panoramas.
His images of individual proteins are typically computer generated, cell-shaded space-filling representations of proteins, often with cut-aways to show internal binding sites and cofactors. Conversely, his illustration of cell interiors (sometimes called molecular landscapes) are hand-painted in watercolours.[12] They are typically slices through a cell with highly simplified protein structures in a flat style in order to capture overall organisation without overwhelming detail.[13] These cell interiors are often displayed at an effective 1,000,000x magnification for consistency.[14][15] The paintings therefore share a consistent style, aiming to make interpretation easy and as intuitive as possible.[16]
His illustrations are published in the "Molecule of the Month" series by the Protein Data Bank (PDB), an archive of protein structures.[8] His illustrations are used as teaching tools,[17] in textbooks, in scientific publications,[10] and as journal cover art.[18]
Awards and recognition
In 2022 Goodsell was the recipient of the Carl Brändén Award.[22] The award honors an outstanding protein scientist who has also made exceptional contributions in the areas of education and/or service.
