Sharing latest research findings via animations
COMPUTER animations that reveal biological processes in tiny detail, including within the human body, can also deliver ‘‘huge’’ benefits for science communication, Australianbased biomedical animator Drew Berry said in Dunedin yesterday.
‘‘It’s really the only way to get this stuff into the public sight.’’
He had always been keen to know ‘‘what’s being discovered’’ scientifically, and wanted to share the latest research findings with children and adults through scientifically accurate animations.
He was also ‘‘stripping away all the fancy language’’ scientists used.
‘‘I love reading a scientific paper,’’ he added.
Some microscopic creatures, including some singlecelled algae which could be found in pond scum, were strikingly beautiful when viewed through a microscope, he said.
He had earlier given a keynote address to more than 250 people at the Public Communication of Science and Technology Conference at the University of Otago.
After 20 years of producing biomolecular visualisations using ‘‘timeconsuming, expensive ‘Hollywoodstyle’ animation’’ approaches, Mr Berry has switched to the ‘‘extraordinary power of videogame hardware’’, a conference programme note explained.
The changed approach generated ‘‘vast, detailed molecular and membrane landscapes inside our living cells’’.
USborn, Mr Berry is a biomedical animator at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne.
His work combined his background as a cell microbiologist and microscopist with a longstanding interest in computer graphics.
His scientifically accurate and aesthetically rich visualisations were clarifying ‘‘cellular and molecular processes’’ for a wide range of audiences, science organisers said.
His animations, often ranging up to three minutes long, have been shown in exhibitions, multimedia programmes and television shows.
They have also won several international awards, including an Emmy (2005) and a Bafta Award (2004).