Arts

  • Wireframe Arts

We aim to raise awareness and educate the public about infectious diseases and phage therapy using wireframe art. Wireframes serve as great abstractions for depicting the structures of viral and phage capsids, finding frequent application in the primary scientific literature. Here is a sketch design of a 3D wireframe sculpture for an ssRNA phage packed with RNA genome, which will be constructed and displayed in public.

  • Hand-held art toy puzzles of RNA viruses/phages

We are developing an innovative approach to studying virus/phage structures by transforming them into interactive hand-held puzzles. Inspired by the modularity of ssRNA phage capsids, We worked with students to create handheld toys that illustrate RNA packaging. Besides the 3D printing technology (Fig. A), we built wireframe models of phages and viruses, experimenting with various materials to represent diverse shapes and RNA conformations. All of the models are creations by students in the BICH603 class (Fig. B).