Many plants have both male and female reproductive organs, making pollination a breeze. Wind, or insects, can transport the pollen from the anther to the carpel, which contains the seeds. Here, an optical section was made through a developing Arabidopsis thaliana flower. Sepals, petals, anthers and carpels are visible, and ovules can be seen in the middle of the style.
By John Runions, Oxford Brookes University
(Source: cell.com)
Adult neurogenesis occurs in 2 primary locations: the olfactory bulb and the central part of the hippocampus, called the dentate gyrus (shown here). This widefield multi-photon fluorescence image of a rat hippocampus was stained to reveal the distribution of glia (cyan), neurofilaments (green) and cell nuclei (yellow). The image was produced as part of an ongoing brain mapping project for the Whole Brain Catalog.
By Thomas Deerinck, NCMIR, UCSD
(Source: cell.com)
Heart of Glass: The Art of Medical Models
Gary Farlow can make art out of arteries. He and his team of 10 at Farlow’s Scientific Glassblowing are able to transform the body’s vasculature—and nearly all of its other parts—into an ornate borosilicate glass sculpture, from the heart’s ventricles to the brain’s circle of Willis. “We do almost every part of the body,” Farlow says. “It can take a pretty artistic mind to make some of these things.” With the help of cardiologists, the team creates custom see-through systems for science and medical training. Their anatomically correct models can be designed to simulate blood flow, teach placement of catheters and angioplasty devices, or simply test or demo new surgical gizmos. Individual arteries, veins, and capillaries are shaped and fused together, one at a time. Ground-glass joints are added at the exposed ends so a head, say, can be connected to the carotid arteries should customers want to expand their model. A full-body setup could cost $25,000, so don’t get any bright ideas about using one as a brandy decanter.
Mr. Gerd Guenther
Duesseldorf, Germany
Specimen: Stem section of Fragesia sp., garden bamboo, showing a vascular bundle
Technique: Fluorescence, ca. 200x
Micrograph of a pine tree section by Josefine Stenudd on Flickr.
Spectacularly colorful microscopy by Igor Siwanowicz
Protein Art by May K.
I never cease to be amazed by how artistically inspirational science can be! For those of you who have never seen protein structures before, biologists and biochemists often represent the three-dimensional shapes taken on by chains of amino acids using ribbon diagrams. It’s an easy way to see the overall patterns and folding of complicated protein molecules, and there’s whole databases of them just laying around.
May K. rotates those ribbon structures in 3-D modeling software until she sees an interesting shape pop out. Then she uses the protein to anchor her extremely fun artwork. Check out her full gallery here! So cool.
(Source: brilliantbotany)
The Tufted Puffin, also known as Crested Puffin, is a relatively abundant (and also really adorable) medium-sized pelagic seabird in the auk family found throughout the North Pacific Ocean. These photos of puffins from Kolyuchin Island, in the far east Russian Arctic, were taken by Ngaire Lawsom.
OneZoom: A new, interactive tree of life that follows the diversity of life through fractal-like, swirling branches and leaves.
I have something of a soft spot for trees of life. This one is already near the top of my list. The interactive viewer lets you zoom in to individual species, with curved branches resembling fractal spirals. Each leaf carries information about its species, including a color code that relates to its endangered status.
It looks like it’s only mammals for now, but there are plans to add more. I really love how they embrace the idea that the web is not made of electronic paper, and stuff like this lets us explore science in ways that we never could in books.
Life, February 4, 1946
The anther of Arabidopsis thaliana (thale cress) at 20-times magnification.
Image by Dr. Heiti Paves, Tallinn University of Technology.
A 250-times magnified view of Aspergillus sp., a common mold.
Image by Dr. Juan Alberto Morales, Universidad Nacional Autónoma.
The first few weeks of embryogenesis in humans. Beginning at the fertilised egg, ending with the closing of the neural tube.
