ABOUT THE COVER - July 28, 2003

ABOUT THE COVER
July 28, 2003
Volume 81, Number 30
CENEAR 81 30
ISSN 0009-2347

'Waltz of the Polypeptides'

Sculptor Mara G. Haseltine communed with the muse via electron microscope, merging life sciences and art in conceiving her mixed media sculpture "Waltz of the Polypeptides." Her interpretation of a ribosome creating a polypeptide is on the cover of this week's issue. Each iridescent globular form represents a stage in the ribosomal synthesis of the B-lymphocyte stimulator protein.

Haseltine relied on nuclear magnetic resonance imaging and other computer tools in translating the elegant gestures of nature at the submicroscopic level into sculpture-garden-scale art that invites the viewer to walk through the birth of a single protein.

The work, for which Haseltine says she drew inspiration from the Zen gardens of Kyoto, greeted attendees of the Biotechnology Industry Organization's annual convention last month at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. "Waltz of the Polypeptides" and other life sciences-based sculpture installations by Haseltine can be viewed at the artist's website, http://www.calamara.com.

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Photo by James Brown

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