A student-run imaging competition aims to focus wider public interest on the cutting-edge science occurring at institutions around Australia.
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Bringing cutting-edge research into focus
Under the Coverslip is a student-run scientific imaging competition open to PHD, Masters and Honours students from universities and research institutes nationally. The University of Melbourne’s Students of Neuroscience and Anatomy (SONA) group aims to “not only celebrate our work as scientists but spark interest and debate in scientific methods and breakthroughs from the larger non-scientific community”. SONA president Anna Yang says there were 102 entries from a wide range of fields – biological science (anatomy and neuroscience, physiology, pharmacology) to clinical science (optometry, dentistry), biomedical engineering, veterinary and agricultural sciences, ecosystem and forest sciences and microbiology. Yang hopes such images will “break down barriers between art and science by showing that there is undiscovered beauty beneath the microscope that anyone can appreciate”.
Seed of Origin by Sukanya Varape.
Varape is a PHD candidate in the Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences at the University of Melbourne. Her winning image shows immature seeds developing in the silique (seed pod) of an Arabidopsis – rockcress – plant. It shows both the placental connection of seeds and the fragile nature of the underdeveloped yet orderly seed coat, reflecting splashes of light.
Above: Goldilocks by Michael Dixon.
Dixon’s second-placed image shows the gold strands of the superhighway carrying visual information from eye to brain and the blood vessels (in blue) that nourish them. The actual size of the area shown is 1.64 mm2. Understanding how these vessels are affected is crucial to preventing blindness from retinal diseases such as diabetic retinopathy – Dixon’s PHD topic, which examines the interaction between the retina’s immune cells and its neurons and blood vessels.
Above: Molecular Dimple by Zakir Hussain. Hussain is a PHD candidate in nanotechnology. This image shows metal organic semiconductors copper tetracyanoquinodimethane (known as CUTCNQ), synthesised in an organic solvent by adding a faction of water. These materials show great potential as an alternative material for organic-based electronics, because they exhibit ideal semiconducting behaviour.
Top right: A Sticky Situation by
Anita Leembruggen.
Leembruggen is a PHD candidate in enteric neuroscience. She’s investigating plasticity in the neurons and glia in the gastrointestinal tract. This 40x magnification image shows neuron cell bodies in red, with the glial fibrally acidic protein in orange. Known as the “glue” that provides support for nerve cells, glia also have their own roles in synaptic communication and plasticity.
Top left: Portrait of a stem cell scientist by Jemima James.
James is a BSC graduate. Her image shows directed staining of pluripotent stem cells, which can produce any cell type in the human body; she used fluorescent staining to ensure development into the correct cell type. The highlighted cells here are dopaminergic neurons – specifically, those that are lost in Parkinson’s Disease.