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Painting Tears
18 October 2012

Painting Tears

Bambi losing his mother must be one of the most memorable movie moments, sending tears streaming down the face of many a viewer. Carried within these salty droplets is the anti-bacterial enzyme lysozyme. It’s also found in our saliva and in the secretions that line our stomach and nasal passages. In 1965 David C. Phillips uncovered the structure of this protein (pictured), and in doing so discovered how it manages to kill certain bacteria. The task of illustrating this enzyme’s complexity, before the days of advanced computer programmes, was left to scientific artist Irving Geis, born this day in 1908. After six months of labour, Geis produced this colourful watercolour representation of lysozyme, published in 1966 in popular science journal, Scientific American.

Written by Lux Fatimathas

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BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

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