September 23, 2014

Strangely Beautiful Sneeze Spray

With cold and flu season upon us and cooler weather increasingly pushing us indoors, it’s time to remind ourselves how to stay healthy.

By Kalliopi Monoyios

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This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American

With cold and flu season upon us and cooler weather increasingly pushing us indoors, it's time to remind ourselves how to stay healthy. Namely, eat well, sleep well, exercise, and whatever you do, don't inadvertently inhale a virus-laden water droplet after your office-mate sneezes. Medical illustrator James Archer shows us exactly what to watch out for in this beautiful depiction of a common cold virus, the rhinovirus, suspended in a drop of water (that's a euphamism, people. If you want to get technical, it's spit, plain and simple).

Incidentally, an illustration like this is deceptively complex. To get the reflections on the droplet just so, Archer modeled an entire office around it so that when he added lighting, it would create the highly convincing reflections that make the illustration so convincing.

James Archer's medical illustration work can be found on his studio website; you can also link up with him on Facebook and Twitter.

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For the third year running, we are turning September into a month-long celebration of science artists by delivering a new morsel of sciart to chew on each day. Totally yum? Check out what was previously featured on this day:

2013: Artologica with artwork by Michele Banks

2012: Creataceous Critter Coffee Co. with artwork by Raven Amos

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