The Art in Biomedical Research
1. Muscle Stem Cell Factories
Credit: FASEB 2012 Bio-Art Winner - Douglas B. Cowan
This micrograph shows cells called myoblasts attached to spherical microcarriers, which allow the growth of adult stem cells that have been isolated from skeletal muscle. The stem cells are shown in green. By combining these cells in a bioreactor, the muscle stem cells can be greatly increased in number and then separated from the myoblast “feeder” cells. The image was produced in the course of studies aimed at creating artificial “stem cell factories” and was supported by NIH funding from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.
2. Scaffold for Cartilage Regeneration
Credit: FASEB 2012 Bio-Art Winner - Frank Moutos and Farshid Guilak
Due to a lack of blood vessels and other characteristics, cartilage heals very slowly. One way to accelerate natural cartilage repair and growth is to use tissue engineering, or the artificially-stimulated production of functional replacement tissue. The image shows a three-dimensionally woven biomaterial scaffold. The scaffold consists of multiple layers of resorbable fiber bundles that have been woven into a porous structure. The scaffold is then seeded with cells that grow to become new tissue as the fibers are resorbed. The fibers provide stiffness and strength in a manner that mimics native collagenous tissues such as cartilage. This work to use tissue engineering to generate replacement cartilage is supported by NIH funding from the National Institutes of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.
3. Production of New Neurons
Credit: FASEB 2012 Bio-Art Winner - Grigori Enikolopov and Ann-Shyn Chiang
New neurons are produced from neural stem cells in several areas of the adult brain. One such area is in the hippocampus, a brain structure crucial for cognitive function. The number of neural stem cells in the hippocampus decreases over time, possibly contributing to the cognitive impairment associated with aging. When activated by extrinsic stimuli, stem cells divide and generate progenitor cells, which eventually mature into neurons and migrate into the layers above, whereas stem cells themselves undergo additional rounds of rapid divisions and convert into astrocytes, thus leaving the stem cell pool. The image depicts stem cells (green) and neuronal nuclei (red). This research to understand how the brain produces new neurons is supported by NIH through the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute of Aging.
4. Brain, Heart, and Lung Communication
Credit: FASEB 2012 Bio-Art Winner - Li-Hsien Lin
Both glutamate and nitric oxide play an important role in transmitting cardiovascular and respiratory signals between the brain, heart, and lung. This butterfly shaped figure is an image of a rat spinal cord showing the distribution of three types of glutamate and nitric oxide synthesizing enzymes. Understanding the action and interaction of glutamate and nitric oxide in the nervous system could lead to better treatments for cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension and heart failure. This work is supported by NIH funding from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.
(Source: livescience.com)
Victorian Microscope Slides
1. A Different View
Credit: Howard Lynk, Victorian Microscope Slides But crossed polarizing filters (called a Polariscope) reveal an entirely different sight.
2. In Awe of the Natural World
Credit: Howard Lynk, Victorian Microscope SlidesIn the mid- to late-19th century, science gripped the public imagination. Literacy rates were rising, feeding demand for books. Theories, put forward in books like Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species, about how the natural world came to be fascinated readers. Museums and exhibitions promoted interest in science and devices like the microscope. Microscopes became cheaper, and a popular form of entertainment. Viewers peered through them at specimens they’d collected themselves or slides prepared professionally. The image above shows an ocean-dwelling diatom — a single-celled alga surrounded by a glass-like cell wall.
3. Manipulating Light
Credit: Howard Lynk, Victorian Microscope SlidesSpecial filters used in the microscope transform the pale porpoise bone into the vibrant colors seen above. Polarizing filters eliminate certain wavelengths of light based on the direction in which they vibrate, and, when positioned correctly, they reveal special properties of the specimen, related to how the substance refracts, or bends, the light waves that enter it. This produces what’s known as interference colors. An additional filter, made of the mineral selenite, further alters the behavior of light and changes the colors that the viewer sees.
4. A Little Greenery
Credit: Howard Lynk, Victorian Microscope SlidesFerns were another fad among Victorians. The craze was called “Pteridomania” or Fern Fever. Above, a Victorian-era fern leaf under a microscope. The slide gives no specific information about this fern, although its maker, J.W. Bond, was one of the pioneering early slide mounters, according to Lynk.
(Source: livescience.com)
Photomicrographs
“Hideo Otsuna, 5-day old zebrafish head”
“Jonas King, Anopheles gambiae (mosquito) heart”
“James Nicholson, Orange Fungia (mushroom coral), live specimen”
“Paul D. Andrews, Telophase HeLa (cancer) cells expressing Aurora B-EGFP (green)”
(Source: stumbleupon.com)
Microscopic Monsters: Gallery of Ugly Bugs
1. Little Red Riding Hood
Credit: Therry The & Marilee Sellers | Northern Arizona University, Page Baluch | W.M. Keck Bioimaging Laboratory |
Arizona State UniversityAnother helpful beetle, the soft-winged flower beetle (Collops vittatus) feeds on whiteflies, which helps to naturally control the pest’s population in cotton fields. Soft-winged flower beetles also eat soft-bodied insects such as mites, aphids and caterpillars.
2. Sinister Wasp
Credit: Therry The & Marilee Sellers | Northern Arizona University, Page Baluch | W.M. Keck Bioimaging Laboratory |
Arizona State UniversityThe ichneumon wasp (Hymenoptera) is a parasitoid, which means that its larvae feed on their host organism. Using her long, stinger-like ovipositor, the mother wasp injects her eggs into a host’s dwelling or body — sometimes even into their larvae. When the wasp’s larvae hatch, they will devour their host, which include butterfly pupae and moth caterpillars.
3. Egg Eater
Credit: Therry The & Marilee Sellers | Northern Arizona University, Page Baluch | W.M. Keck Bioimaging Laboratory |
Arizona State UniversityThe above googly-eyed bug may look pretty silly, but don’t be fooled — it’s a predatory insect. Damsel bugs (Nabis americoferus) feed on the eggs of other insects, as well as devouring small caterpillars and aphids, which are also known as plant lice.
4. Tarnished Sap Suckers
Credit: Therry The & Marilee Sellers | Northern Arizona University, Page Baluch | W.M. Keck Bioimaging Laboratory |
Arizona State UniversityThe Western tarnished plant bug (Lygus Hesperus) feeds on the sap of plants, including peach trees, strawberries and cotton plants. It is considered to be a major agricultural pest and causes millions of dollars in damage to the cotton and strawberry industry in California alone, according to researchers at Northern Arizona University.
Bdelloid rotifer Philodina roseola from a laboratory culture (20x)
Mr. Michael Shribak & Dr. Irina Arkhipova
A three dimensional view of a cell culture of breast cancer cells, by Dr. Jonatas Bussador do Amaral and Dr. Gláucia Maria Machado Santelli of the University of São Paulo in São Paulo, Brazil.
Rich Life Under the Sea
Gelatinous Zooplankton
Credit: Photo by L. Madin, NOAA, Census of Marine Life, 2006
Census of Marine Life scientists trawled rarely explored tropical ocean depths between the southeast U.S. coast and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, revealing a newfound variety of zooplankton and other small creatures. Shown above is an
(Source: livescience.com)
Gemma (asexual reproductive structure) from the thalloid liverwort (Lunularia cruciata) (20x)
by Dr. Robin Young
Diatom arrangement (200x)
Image of Distinction - Dr. Gregor Overney
Agilent Technologies, Inc. - Santa Clara, California, USA
Flu, Antibodies and Genetic Testing
1. Swine Flu - H1N1 - Haemaglutinin (orange) and neuraminidase (yellow) are the 2 coat proteins, ion channels are also shown and 8 strands of RNA inside.
2. Monoclonal Antibodies
3. Genetic Testing. Removing one cell from an 8 cell embryo to test for disease prior to implantation.
(Source: behance.net)
