Niko McCarty, a prominent science communicator and founding editor of Asimov Press, has sparked a discussion on social media regarding the absence of a highly visual, explanatory YouTube channel for biology akin to Grant Sanderson's "3Blue1Brown" for mathematics. McCarty, a former bioengineer, outlined several plausible reasons for this perceived gap, while also suggesting that emerging AI tools might soon bridge it.
In his recent tweet, McCarty posited, "Why isn't there a 3Blue1Brown for biology?" He referenced Sanderson's channel, known for its consistent visual aesthetic and the custom "manim" animation engine, which uses Python to render smooth mathematical concepts. McCarty then explored three primary explanations for the disparity in biology.
One challenge, according to McCarty, is biology's "larger visual palette" compared to math. He argued that while mathematical concepts often rely on a small set of symbols like charts and equations, biology demands a wider array of elements, from depicting a kinesin protein's movement to the evolution of a species. However, he questioned this, noting that 3Blue1Brown successfully applies a consistent aesthetic across diverse mathematical topics.
McCarty also suggested that biology lacks a "rich history of visual ideas," making it harder to establish a consistent aesthetic. Unlike the long-standing conventions for graphs and geometric shapes in mathematics, biology's visual language is less fixed. He noted, "Everyone draws a chromosome differently, for example," highlighting the challenge of choosing an appropriate scale for conveying biological ideas without inherited conventions.
Finally, the technical demands and time investment for creating biological visuals were cited as a significant barrier. McCarty explained that illustrating molecular-level processes, such as enzyme function, often requires specialized software like PyMOL or Blender, demanding a high technical skill set that may not be transferable across different biological scales. However, he expressed optimism, stating, "This bottleneck is collapsing with AI tools, though. Claude now works directly in Blender and Adobe products, for example, so iterations will be much faster." He concluded by wondering if this technological shift could lead to a "3Blue1Brown-esque creator emerge for biology." McCarty specifically mentioned David Goodsell's painting, whose "visual aesthetic has been extremely transformative in terms of how people think about molecular biology."
