FACULTY OF MEDICAL AND VETERINARY SCIENCES

Information about

Information for

Art of Science Competition

The annual Art of Science Competition highlights the creativity that goes into the scientific output of our academic community, drawing from the best images and movies that have been created by our students and staff over the past year.

You can find out more about the competition and view winning entries from previous years, or view this year's galleries below.

2012/13 galleries

This year's results were announced on 21 November 2012, and the winning and runner-up entries of the image category, and the winning entry of the film category, are shown below:

Image category

'Art in science!' by Liz Emery

'Art in science!'

  • Entrant: Liz Emery, PhD student, School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine
  • Result: Winner (The People's Choice)

Description

Life science researchers use this piece of lab equipment regularly to separate and identify different proteins. The blue dye added to indicate how far a protein has moved down a gel does not usually spell out words!

'Swirling' by Nicole Antonio

'Swirling'

  • Entrant: Nicole Antonio, PhD student, School of Biochemistry
  • Result: Winner

Description

This image shows a cross-section through a zebrafish tumour. Cancer cells are coloured green and immune cells (white blood cells) are coloured red. Notice how the over growth has led to a swirling vortex of cells.

'3D cancer cell invasion' by Jennifer Batson

'3D cancer cell invasion'

  • Entrant: Jennifer Batson, PhD student, School of Physiology and Pharmacology
  • Result: Winner

Description

Researchers often need to study how different cells communicate with each other. This image shows prostate cancer cells (blue and pink) moving past non-cancerous cells (green). The cancer cells interact intimately with the non-cancer cells, which in turn stretch and pull on their surroundings to create archways that the cancer cells can travel through.

'What do you see?' by Claire Bratley

'What do you see?'

  • Entrant: Claire Bratley, PhD student, School of Physiology and Pharmacology
  • Result: Winner

Description

The path of a rat is tracked as he forages for food in a circular arena. The arrows indicate which way he was facing. He often ‘drew’ pictures for me as he explored his environment.

'Winter wonderland' by Alex Greenhough and Paloma Ordóñez Morán

'Winter wonderland'

  • Entrants: Alex Greenhough, postdoctoral researcher, School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine; and Paloma Ordóñez Morán, School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine
  • Result: Winners

Description

A wintry impression of an intestinal wall, stained green. This view reminded the researcher of Christmas trees in winter and added snow and baubles with Photoshop software.

'Cooling down' by William Parish and Caroline Pope

'Cooling down'

  • Entrants: William Parish, postdoctoral researcher, School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine; and Caroline Pope postdoctoral researcher, School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine
  • Result: Winners

Description

Thermal imaging is used to detect infrared radiation, which allows us to visualize variations in temperature. Heated reagents are added to a cool conical flask to make a buffer solution.

'Concentration' by Claire Bratley

'Concentration'

  • Entrant: Claire Bratley, PhD student, School of Physiology and Pharmacology
  • Result: Runner up

Description

I took this picture of my colleague at a conference. I was trying to capture the concentration that is needed for these long science events – they really can be an exercise in endurance...

'Stellar brain' by Flavie Kersante

'Stellar brain'

  • Entrant: Flavie Kersante, postdoctoral researcher, School of Physiology and Pharmacology
  • Result: Runner up

Description

An image through a brain, showing neurons in red, and associated cells - astrocytes, in green.

'Peter Mitchell in his own words' by Tom MacVicar

'Peter Mitchell in his own words'

  • Entrant: Tom McVicar, PhD student, School of Biochemistry
  • Result: Runner up

Description

Peter Mitchell (1920 – 1992) won the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1978 for his groundbreaking discovery of how living cells produce energy. Conducting most of his research from a converted manor house in Cornwall, Mitchell’s chemiosmotic theory revolutionized the field of Biochemistry and has given a huge clue to how life on earth first began.

'I heart histology!' by Debbie Martin

'I heart histology!'

  • Entrant: Debbie Martin, technician, Faculty of Medical and Veterinary Sciences
  • Result: Runner up

Description

This is a negative image of a cervical lymph node.

'Bubbly' by Will Razzell

'Bubbly'

  • Entrant: Will Razzell, PhD student, School of Biochemistry
  • Result: Runner up

Description

This image shows CO2 bubbling through a flask. The researcher uses CO2 extensively to temporarily stun fruit flies and sort them under the microscope.

'...and that's how my Zebrafish stocks became depleted' by Scott Reynolds

'...and that's how my Zebrafish stocks became depleted'

  • Entrant: Scott Reynolds, PhD student, School of Biochemistry
  • Result: Runner up

Description

Sometimes experiments seem to eat up your reserves. This image is a representation of that feeling. The skirted Barb has been stained to identify areas of bone and cartilage in the study of joint formation. The one day old zebrafish embryo has been added using Photoshop software.

Film category

'Transparent Immunohistochemistry'

  • Entrant: Kai Murk, postdoctoral researcher, School of Biochemistry
  • Result: winner

Description

Imaging of cells deep within tissue is usually very challenging and requires sophisticated equipment such as two-photon microscopes.

We combined a method that makes organic material transparent. Thereby, we can image (ie astrocytes and their association with blood vessels shown here) four times deeper and at far better detail in the brain than with standard immunohistochemistry and microscopy.