Scientifically Acceptable Uses of Photoshop

Science, when it comes down to it, is all about making observations of the world around us. We might come up with seemingly abstract equations to describe things, but nothing beats a picture of the object or phenomenon in action. Sometimes writing a paper begins not with the text but with the pictures, which essentially tell the story. Thus scientists are often required to be mini-experts in desktop publishing tools like Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator when it comes to making illustrations for talks or publications. John Nack from Adobe has published a few links (1, 2, 3) on his blog with examples of Photoshop's use in scientific illustration, having been inspired by the recent NY Times article on efforts to verify image authenticity in the wake of the Dr. Hwang Woo Suk scandal. One link to HubbleSource provides information on making breathtaking images from Hubble space telescope data using a special free software plugin called the FITS Liberator. Nack also provides a handy link on the Adobe website for a list of Photoshop features for scientists and healthcare professionals.