Every year, Nikon hosts the Small World competition, which pits stunning microscopy images against one another for oooohs and aaaahs from around the world. The images are breathtaking, for both scientists and lay-folk alike
So, to kick off a brief Thanksgiving break, I wanted to send you all to the 2012 winners of the Small World competition, announced a few weeks ago. Click here for the Small World winners and honorable mentions...and lose an afternoon to image browsing, microscope jealousy, and pride in the amazing advances within the microscopy field.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Thanks for reading HighMag!
Showing posts with label fun stuff. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fun stuff. Show all posts
ASCB treat
The American Society of Cell Biology (ASCB) is a huge organization of about 10,000 cell biologists. This organization is fantastic for not only the support of biology research, but also for its help in career development, discussions of women in the sciences, support of biology education at every level, and influence on public policy.
The ASCB holds an annual meeting that is the top meeting choice for many cell biologists. This year's meeting wrapped up earlier this week, so I figured I would devote today's blog post to a favorite meeting event--Celldance! This isn't a dance for cell biologists (go the International C. elegans meeting for that rad event that lets you boogie with Nobel laureates...I'm looking at you, Craig Mello!). Celldance is a competition for stunning images and movies of cells. Movies can be descriptive or experimental, new or old, or they can help describe a cellular event for students and the general public.
So, please enjoy a few of the 2011 Celldance winners (and check out past winners here), courtesy of ASCB:
First place award: Cancer Dance - a stunning look at what may contribute to malignancy in some cells (Submitted by Tsutomu Tomita of Timelapse Vision, Inc.)
Public outreach award: Animation of Chromosome Alignment and the Spindle Assembly Checkpoint - beautiful, with sparkly animation of the amazing kinetochore and spindle checkpoint that makes me think of Katy Perry's "Firework" video (Submitted by Bin He, Virginia Tech)
Check out the rest of the 2011 CellDance winners here.
BONUS!! ASCB also announced winners of the first World Cell Race! This race pitted multiple cell types from labs all over the world against each other on race tracks made of fibronectin. The fastest cells were bone marrow stem cells, which clocked in at 5.2 microns per minute (or 0.000204 inches per minute). Check out the World Cell Race homepage for a movie of cells racing.
The ASCB holds an annual meeting that is the top meeting choice for many cell biologists. This year's meeting wrapped up earlier this week, so I figured I would devote today's blog post to a favorite meeting event--Celldance! This isn't a dance for cell biologists (go the International C. elegans meeting for that rad event that lets you boogie with Nobel laureates...I'm looking at you, Craig Mello!). Celldance is a competition for stunning images and movies of cells. Movies can be descriptive or experimental, new or old, or they can help describe a cellular event for students and the general public.
So, please enjoy a few of the 2011 Celldance winners (and check out past winners here), courtesy of ASCB:
First place award: Cancer Dance - a stunning look at what may contribute to malignancy in some cells (Submitted by Tsutomu Tomita of Timelapse Vision, Inc.)
Public outreach award: Animation of Chromosome Alignment and the Spindle Assembly Checkpoint - beautiful, with sparkly animation of the amazing kinetochore and spindle checkpoint that makes me think of Katy Perry's "Firework" video (Submitted by Bin He, Virginia Tech)
Check out the rest of the 2011 CellDance winners here.
BONUS!! ASCB also announced winners of the first World Cell Race! This race pitted multiple cell types from labs all over the world against each other on race tracks made of fibronectin. The fastest cells were bone marrow stem cells, which clocked in at 5.2 microns per minute (or 0.000204 inches per minute). Check out the World Cell Race homepage for a movie of cells racing.
Microscopy as art
Most of us are aware and in awe of the images from the Nikon Small World image competition. In case you are not, prepare to experience the world of microscopy in a new way. Check out the Image Galleries for the past few years here.
The Cell: An Image Library
If you love geeking out over the beauty of cells, you must check out The Cell: An Image Library. It's a site of images, videos, and animations of cells that are contributed by some of the world's best biologists. The Library is hosted by the American Society for Cell Biology, so you know it is a great resource.
Some favorites:
A famously beautiful image of an actin network known to many of us as "the Svitkina image" is here. This image got me excited about actin in a way I wasn't willing to admit for years, especially as a proud lover of microtubules.
A rat intestinal cell absorbing a fatty meal is here. Next time you're tempted to order that delicious Fettuccine Alfredo, maybe this image will convince you to order the salad instead.
Some favorites:
A famously beautiful image of an actin network known to many of us as "the Svitkina image" is here. This image got me excited about actin in a way I wasn't willing to admit for years, especially as a proud lover of microtubules.
A dividing cell in metaphase, using Fluorescence Speckle Microscopy to visualize microtubule dynamics and kinetochores is here. Ah, spindles (contented sigh).
An animation of kinesin walking on a microtubule is here. If you feel moved for interpretive dance, you're not alone...my old labmates have seen my performance of this animation.
HighMag is on summer break!
Hi folks!
HighMag is going to take a few days for a summer break. This will give me an opportunity to reflect on the state of science and magnify my interest in cell biology, with high resolution and a low noise-to-signal ratio. Lastly, I'll put myself in proper alignment so I can properly illuminate the world of cell biology imaging. Get it?! Man, I'm funny. In the meantime, I'll post a few odds and ends in the cell biology imaging world that should be fun to share. For now, you can sit back and enjoy one of my favorite clips of Ernie. He totally embodies the curiosity that a lot of us had as kids, and maintain today as scientists. So, if you are at the bench and sick of doing 50 minipreps just to find out that your cloning didn't work (again), maybe this will remind you of the romance that drove you to the science world in the first place.
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