Design – a new way to look at old molecules

Davide Spalvieri (1, 2) , Anne-Marine Mauviel (1, 2) , Matthieu Lambert (3) , Nicolas Férey (1, 2, 4) , Sophie Sacquin-Mora (1, 2) , Matthieu Chavent (5) , Marc Baaden (1, 2)

1 LBT (UPR_9080) - Laboratoire de biochimie théorique [Paris]
2 IBPC (FR_550) - Institut de biologie physico-chimique
3 Ecole Estienne
4 VENISE - Virtual & augmented ENvIronments for Simulation & Experiments - LISN
5 IPBS - Institut de pharmacologie et de biologie structurale

We discuss how design enriches molecular science, particularly structural biology and bioinformatics. We present two use cases, one in academic practice and the other to design for outreach. The first case targets the representation of ion channels and their dynamic properties. In the second, we document a transition process from a research environment to general-purpose designs. Several testimonials from practitioners are given. By describing the design process of abstracted shapes, exploded views of molecular structures, motion-averaged slices, 360-degree panoramic projections, and experiments with lit sphere shading, we document how designers help make scientific data accessible without betraying its meaning, and how a creative mind adds value over purely data-driven visualizations. A similar conclusion was drawn for public outreach, as we found that comic-book-style drawings are better suited for communicating science to a broad audience.

Keywords: exploded views; illustration; ion channels; molecular design; outreach

Domains: Theoretical and/or physical chemistry; Structural Biology [q-bio.BM]; Quantitative Methods [q-bio.QM]

Davide Spalvieri, Anne-Marine Mauviel, Matthieu Lambert, Nicolas Férey, Sophie Sacquin-Mora, et al.. Design – a new way to look at old molecules. Journal of Integrative Bioinformatics, 2022, 19 (2), pp.20220020. ⟨10.1515/jib-2022-0020⟩. ⟨hal-03793308⟩