Science cartoons
A cartoon from my selection of science cartoons
Scientific research cartoon
Cartoon about resistance to change in sectors of the scientific establishment
The cartoon is focused on conservatism in the scientific establishment.
The caption says “Our research proves that the scientific establishment has developed immunity to radical new ideas.’
The cartoon illustrates the fact that all organisations and disciplines can be conservative to some extent
Cartoon reference number: a531
Anti-vax cartoon
Anti-vax cartoon
A cartoon about anti-vaxxers and anti-vax conspiracy theories.
Anti-vax conspiracy theories are common at the time of writing (2020).
This cartoon however was drawn in 2007 (I think) for a BBC science magazine for an article about vaccine scare hysteria created by media driven hysteria over health issues. I think that was traditional media in those days, not social media as it would be now.
The cartoon shows a doctor looking at a hyperdermic syringe and thinking “One of the side effects of this vaccine will be a hysterical reaction in the media.”
A joke about medicine, doctors, hypodermic syringes, vaccinations, anti-vax, anti-vaxxers, conspiracy theories.
Cartoon drawn: 2007
Cartoon reference number: a530
Safeguarding against litigation in the health service
Safeguarding against litigation in the health service – cartoon
An illustration depicting excessive health tests being done on a patient in order to guard against the possibility of later litigation against negligent health care
A cartoon about litigation culture, lawsuits against health services, doctors, hospitals.
This cartoon was originally drawn to illustrate an article in the BBC magazine Knowledge
Cartoon reference number: a527
NHS computerised medical records system failure – computer virus cartoon
Illustration: the NHS (National Health Service) in Britain spent a fortune on a hi-tech computer system to store and retrieve its medical records.
The system never worked.
The joke in the cartoon is the link between the word virus as used in medicine and computing
Cartoon reference number: a526
Health statistics cartoon
Health statistics cartoon
A cartoon showing a dentist ‘drilling down’ to find health statistics
The cartoon shows a man in a dentist’s surgery
The joke is in the pun on the term ‘drilling down’
Cartoon reference number: a525
Government health advice – cartoon
Government health advice cartoon
A cartoon about official health advice
A cartoon showing a man standing on weighing scales, with the scales breaking due to the great weight of the book of health guidelines that the man is holding.
A cartoon about excessive health guidelines, the nanny state, health and safety guidelines
Cartoon reference number: a524
Norovirus cartoon – winter vomiting virus cartoon
Norovirus cartoon
Winter vomiting virus cartoon
A cartoon about the annual recurrence of epidemics of the winter vomiting virus or norovirus
The cartoon is about the way that the press or media report the spread of the illness. The press has a tendency to distort statistics and to inflate risks for the sake of a good story, so it’s sometimes hard to know what the real risks from epidemics such as the norovirus (or bird flu, etc) really are.
Cartoon reference number: a503
Save the smallpox virus – cartoon
Save the smallpox virus – cartoon
A parody on “Save the Whale” T-shirts and other T-shirts with slogans or messages on them
It’s also a cartoon about our attitudes to different species of animal, and which ones we feel moved to want to save (usually cute, cuddly, furry ones).
It’s also about animal rights, and where they should stop.
First version drawn: 1991
Cartoon reference number: a446
Medical budget increases – cost of medicine cartoon

Health spending increasing – cartoon.
Increases in health spending caused by increased use of prescription drugs
Cartoon showing doctors and medical staff rolling a pill or tablet up a graph
A cartoon about the cost of medicine, the burden on the health services of the cost of medical treatment
Cartoon drawn: 2012
Cartoon reference number: a331b
Health budget – health spending increases cartoon
Health spending increasing – cartoon.
Increases in health spending caused by increased use of prescription drugs
Cartoon showing doctors and medical staff rolling a pill up a graph
A cartoon about the cost of medicine, the burden on the health services of the cost of medical treatment
Cartoon reference number: a331
How to deal with the impact of an aging population
Aging population cartoon.
How to deal with the problem of an aging population
The comic suggests that a way to reduce the impact of an aging population is to encourage people to smoke more cigarettes, thus reducing the number of people who live to an old age.
The joke is that while these campaigns are normally about trying to improve people’s health, such as by campaigning to stop them smoking, the one depicted here is to encourage a method of shortening people’s lives by taking up smoking.
A cartoon about increasing numbers of pensioners, demographics, health policy, health education, anti-smoking campaigns, the tobacco industry.
Cartoon reference number: a317
Gene doping cartoon or illustration. Will gene doping occur in the 2012 Olympics?
Gene doping cartoon or illustration
A cartoon about gene doping in sport, Olympics gene doping. Genetic manipulation in competitive sport.
The illustration shows a hypodermic syringe with a double helix strand of dna inside it
Gene doping is defined by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) as the non-therapeutic use of cells, genes, or genetic elements to improve athletic performance.
Gene manipulation for muscle enhancement in athletics and other sport has bioethical implications similar to those involved in chemical doping and other methods of gaining an unfair advantage over sporting competitors.
Genetic manipulation in athletics and other sport may include ways of increasing muscle growth, altering blood characteristics, increasing endurance, enhancing oxygen dispersal and reducing pain perception.
A cartoon or illustration about gene therapy, genetic manipulation, ethics of gene doping.
Cartoon reference number: a232
Hospital garden cartoon – a sickly plant put on a drip
Hospital garden cartoon – plant on a drip
Hospital garden cartoon – showing a sickly plant that has been put on a drip
A cartoon showing a doctor in the garden of a hospital. He has noticed that one plant looks sickly, so he’s put it on a drip.
A cartoon about ways of supplying nutrients to garden plants. Drip mechanisms are a common method of irrigating crops or of watering garden plants, so the drip joke isn’t actually very far fetched.
Drawn: Oct 2007
Cartoon reference number: a171
Illustration. A walking brain
Cartoon/illustration. A walking brian with legs and a head
Cartoon/illustration. A walking brian with legs and a head
I’m not sure what this drawing means. I suppose it’s something to do with the importance of the human brain’s contribution to what it means to be human. I don’t really know – it just popped into my head.
It’s probably a cartoon about psychiatry, neuroscience, neurology, how the mind works, how the brain works, cognition, the self.
Cartoon reference number: a071
Smoking related health statistics cartoon
Smoking health cartoon
Cigarette cartoon
Cartoon caption: “If you smoke you’re less likely to die of an age-related illness”.
A cartoon about the misleading use of statistics.
A cartoon showing a research laboratory doing medical research into the medical and health related effects of smoking cigarettes. The rerearch laboratory belongs to an organisation called “The Tobacco Industry Research Centre”, indicating that it’s sponsored by the tobacco industry.
The results of the research are given a positive spin by announcing that they show that statistically cigarette smokers are less likely to die of age-related illnesses.
This is of course because smokers are statistically more likely to die before they get old enough to suffer from the diseases of old age.
A cartoon about vested interests, research bias, statistical misrepresentation, medical research, misleading health statistics.
Original cartoon drawn: 2010