My Favorite Cell Biology Cartoons
Updated December 1, 2020
Illustrations are a great way to communicate science. From fine art to comics and cartoons they can bring awareness and/or help explain a concept. There are a lot of amazing creators out there making fun, smart and clever illustrations. I keep discovering amazing illustrators everyday!
Below is my list of top 10 favourite cell biology cartoons, illustrations and comics (in no specific order).
1.Between a rock and a hard place by Pedromics
Pedromics has some very cool cartoons about immunology, life in the lab and academia in general. I think all of his cartoons are great and picking one as a favourite is really difficult. So below is one of the many amazing cartoons depicting immune cells.
In this cartoon a cell acquired a mutation and presents this mutated antigen on its MHC-I. The cell then down regulates the MHC to escape the T cell (cancer immune evasion) but of course NK cells can kill cells with absent MHC-I.
Here are some other of his smart cartoons that I could not resist sharing. Check out his Pedromics Facebook Page to see more.
2.General Thymus by The Awkward Yeti
If you have learned about T cell development you might be aware that T cells are “trained” in the thymus. I love this depiction of the General Thymus by the The Awkward Yeti. This cartoon is by Nick Seluk who has different cartoon series, one of the Heart & Brain, Lars and others. Find all the cartoons at his Awkward Yeti website.
The comic with the hungry macrophage and the one with the platelet party are other very funny ones.
3.Love of my Life by Sketching Science
This is not a cartoon showing cells but it’s more on the working tools of cell biologists: The Pipette.
The pipettes are like your best friend when you need them for your experiments. You even fight over them with lab mates. Sketching Science has a bunch of funny comics and cartoons of everyday life in the lab. Check out the Sketching Science Facebook Page for more.
4.How COVID Vaccines Work by La Pipette
This infographic breaks down how COVID-19 vaccines work and includes vaccine ingredients, cells involved in mounting an immune response to the different strategies for making vaccines. I think the colours used are stunning and the way the information is presented makes it nice to look at and easy to digest. To check out his other graphics visit his instagram account and/or lapipette website page.
5.The Biking Neuron by The Neuron Family
Maria is a PhD candidate (maybe already a Dr. by the time you are reading this) specializing in Neuroscience. She is the creator of The Neuron Family and draws amazing and beautiful neurons. All the neurons that are part of this family are pretty amazing but if I had to pick it would be the Biking Neuron … or maybe the meditation neuron? So hard to pick! You can check The Neuron Family Threadless website to see more of her designs and merchandize.
6.Haemato-Poetic Stem Cell by Nik Spencer
This illustration by Nik Spencer comes with its own poem, so fun!
In the marrow where I reside,
With my progenitors at my side
For immunity,
for blood,
I will divide, divide, divide!
7.Cell Junctions by Amoeba Sisters
This super cute cartoon by the Amoeba Sisters shows the different types of connections between cells. The Amoeba Sisters have a lot educational content to teach biology. They create comics, videos and GIFs that are very cute and very informative at the same time.
Check their youtube channel for some fun videos.
8.Cell Viability Assay by Cellular Scribbles
Cells in culture die, that is the truth and in this case poor Steve didn’t make it.
Check out the Cellular Scribbles Facebook page for more of Vicky’s comics.
9.Our cells work so hard by Runaway Lab Book
It looks like my favourite cartoons follow a theme and I picked several that depict red and white blood cells. The next one by the Runaway Lab Book has a red blood cell and white blood cell arguing. They both make excellent points!
10.Autoimmune by Beatrice the Biologist
For the last one in this collection I again picked a cartoon with immune cells, I guess I really like them, ha! This cartoons by Beatrice the Biologist shows immune cells wanting to destroy one of the healthy cells in the body. This can then lead to the development of autoimmune diseases.
Hi There!
For those new to this website let me introduce myself.
I’m Ana the creator of Cell Cartoons. This adventure started when I was in graduate school studying immune cells and I did some doodles of cells just for fun. This side thing has evolved a lot since and I very recently opened the online shop where I sell stickers, postcards and posters.
Thanks for stopping by!
