When science meets art, some seriously coolness happens – and the perfect example for this is BioScapes, an annual competition ran by Olympus. BioScapes hosts some of the most spectacular images of life seen through a microscope, as exemplified below.
“Each fall, four individuals widely respected in the fields of microscopy and imaging are invited to select the winners and honorable mentions. And they have a monumental task, because researchers and microscope enthusiasts from about 70 countries submit nearly 2500 still images and movies to our competition each year. The beauty, power and importance of science as portrayed by these incredible images and movies captivated this year’s panel of judges and is delighting viewers worldwide”, the competition’s website reads.
The winner of the competition – Multiple views of Drosophila embryonic development. This embryo was recorded in 30-second intervals over a period of 24 hours, starting three hours after egg laying. The video may help reveal cell lineages, cell differentiation and whole-embryo morphogenesis, essential aspects of developmental biology. The newly hatched larva begins to crawl off screen at the end of the video.
Technique: Custom-built simultaneous multi-view light sheet microscopy
Co-prizewinners: Fernando Amat and Philipp Keller
Specimen: Phyllobius roboretanus weevils
Technique: Stereo microscopy
Subject: Rat brain cerebral cortex
Technique: Confocal microscopy
Subject: Magelonid polychaete worm larva from a plankton sample
Technique: Confocal microscopy
Magnification: 10x
7th Prize: Oleksandr Holovachov, Ekuddsvagen, Sweden
Subject: Butter daisy (Melampodium divaricatum) flower
Technique: Fluorescence
Magnification: 2x
Subject: Proboscis (mouthparts) of a vampire moth (Calyptra thalictri)
Technique: Confocal microscopy
Magnification: 10x
Subject: Green coneheaded planthopper (Acanalonia conica) nymph with its gears
Technique: Confocal microscopy
Magnification: 200x
