From father to daughter

Seen from a distance, the four slim, curvy shapes look like dancers wrapping their slinky limbs around poles that project from the water at McNeil Park in Queens, New York City. The figures are still, but appear ready to sway to gentle music. Or so it seems. A closer inspection reveals that the "pole-dancers" are, in fact, gigantic steel representations of nucleic acids, caught in the process of RNA transcription.

An eight foot tall DNA molecule stands right beside a sister double helix, which appears to be unwinding at the bidding of an invisible transcriptase. To the sides, two equally tall mRNAs, the product of transcription, frame the scene. Together, the sculptures comprise the playful "Transcriptease," the latest project (it debuted July 1) of Brooklyn-based artist Mara Haseltine. That's right - Haseltine. She is the daughter of well-known biologist William A. Haseltine. Bringing sophisticated science to her art comes naturally, since she grew up acutely aware of the biological world around her. During her high school years, she worked in the lab with her father while he conducted early studies of HIV. When her father started using molecular modeling, she learned about that, too. "I always loved to make things and my work became inspired by science," says Haseltine.

It was as a child in her father's lab at the Dana Farber Institute in Boston, Mass., where she learned to "draw on slippery white boards, and to sculpt using Bunsen burners, test tubes, and dry ice." Haseltine considered studying marine biology, but changed her mind. "I think my father likes my sculptures," she says with a smile.Not surprisingly, there's more to this latest piece than art. A low-voltage electrical current powered by solar energy is constantly chugging through the metal helixes - a step Haseltine hopes will help bring the American oyster Crassostrea virginica back to New York City shores. (Previous research has suggested that similar electrical currents facilitate the growth of corals.)

"New York used to have more than 350 square miles of oyster reefs, but in the last century, the oysters were nearly wiped out by over-harvesting, pollution, and disease," says Haseltine, whose interest is increasingly shifting to environmental issues. As the oysters filter the water, they will clean it, enabling light to reach the bottom. This lets algae flourish, which in turn supports a whole food chain, explains Thomas Goreau, president of Global Coral Reef Alliance, who is part of the project. Haseltine collaborated with a graduate student and two marine biologists, including James Cervino from Pace University, who will study whether the process boosts the oysters' immune system.

In her previous works, Haseltine has blown up enzymes, ribosomes, and phospholipids to enormous proportions, showing people the intricate, but invisible, tools that make life possible. "I like to make very small things really big, to remind people what's inside their bodies," she says. Haseltine uses actual molecular data, which she manipulates with 3-D computer programs and computer-driven prototyping technologies. "When I show my work to scientists, they often look to see if I put the right amount of nucleotides on each curve, or things like that," Haseltine says.In "SARS Inhibited," a 30 foot (nine meter) wide piece located in Singapore, she magnified a 3-D ribbon diagram of the SARS protease inhibitor to celebrate the unraveling of the enzyme's structure by a team of Singaporean researchers. In "Waltz of the Polypeptides," an 80 foot long, 10 foot high sculpture located at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, she depicts the birth of the B-Lymphocyte stimulator protein, along with the ribosomes that created it. Transcriptease is the first of a series the artist calls "living sculptures." As the sun goes down, and the tide rises, the team in Queens affixes oyster seedlings to the flat surfaces of the DNA chains. Eventually, the oysters will disappear from view, only to gradually poke their heads out when the tide glides back from whence it came, all part of the shoreline's daily cyclical dance. The transcriptease show has begun.Graciela Flores mail@the-scientist.comImages: Transcriptease, Waltz of the Polypeptides, SARS Inhibited, Mara Haseltine. Links within this articleMara G. Haseltine http://www.calamara.comWilliam Haseltine, Time.com http://www.time.com/time/2001/influentials/ybhaseltine.htmlB. Davis, "Malaria, science and social responsibility," The Scientist, March 28, 2005. http://www.the-scientist.com/2005/3/28/42/1S. Benowitz, "Plan for NCHGR receives mixed reaction," The Scientist, January 20, 1997. http://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/17354/C. Gomez, "Filipino MIT winners use electricity to spur coral growth," Global Nation, February 1, 2007. http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/news/view_article.php?article_id=46958Biorock http://www.biorock.net/Technologies/index.htmlGlobal Coral Reef Alliance http://www.globalcoral.org/ James Cervino http://www.whoi.edu/profile.do?id=jcervinoSARS INHIBITED http://www.calamara.com/biopolis.htmlWaltz of the Polypeptides http://www.calamara.com/waltz.html