Science isn’t just boring equations and such, as these winning photos from the BBSRC’s inaugural Science Photo Competition shows.
The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the leading funding agency for academic research and training in the United Kingdom, asked its scientists to share images that are beautiful as they are informative taken in the course of everyday research work. As the winning photos show, not only do these researchers have a passion for their science, they’ve got a keen eye for beauty too!
Asian Weaver ants (Oecophylla smaragdina) can carry weights of more than 100 times their own body weight whilst upside down on a smooth surface. To do this, they have incredibly sticky pads on their feet. However, this does not stop them from running quickly across such surfaces. Research has revealed how they cope with the conflict of sticking to a surface but not getting stuck.
Weaver ants are known for building nests using leaves woven together with silk. They are very territorial and their tendency to defend against intruders can make them a useful tool in controlling agricultural insect pests, avoiding the need for chemical insecticides. They have traditionally been used in this way in Chinese and Southeast Asian citrus orchards for at least 1,500 years.
New Caledonian crows use stick tools for 'fishing' wood-boring beetle larvae from their burrows in decaying tree trunks. They tease the larvae by repeatedly poking them with a tool, encouraging them to defend themselves and bite the tool-tip with their powerful mandibles. Once firmly attached to the tool, the crows carefully withdraw the larvae from their deadwood fortresses. Motion-triggered video cameras recently revealed that individual crows may take years to become proficient at mastering the subtleties of this extraction technique (Bluff et al. 2010, Proc. R. Soc. B). This image is a still taken from film showing this unique predator-prey relationship from the larva's perspective.
Soil is one of the most biologically diverse habitats on Earth and is sometimes referred to as "the poor man's rainforest". The mites and springtails shown here are some of the most abundant creatures found in soil and they play vitally important roles as part of the food chain in this environment.
Understanding the ecology of soil will be vital in meeting the challenge of feeding 9 billion people worldwide by 2050.
Researchers are investigating the effects of smoking on how well muscles work. Smokers may tend to experience tiredness in their muscles more easily than people who do not smoke, which could be down to how much oxygen reaches the muscle and how it is used once it gets there.
This work can also tell us about the fundamental relationships between oxygen supply and utilisation in skeletal muscle tissue.
Harmony of theoretical and practical research is almost a form of art. Recognising the importance of integrating both is likely to induce a paradigm change towards an awareness for interdisciplinary research. For example, in drug discovery classical 'one gene = one disease' viewpoints are starting to be replaced by holistic systems biology approaches. Using this approach it is possible to design promiscuous drugs to tackle multifactorial diseases such as cancer.
In recent years, virus-like particles have found many uses in basic research, nanotechnology and medicine. In particular, these non-infectious virus-resembling scaffolds can be used as inherently safe and effective vaccines. We are developing methods to allow expression and assembly of these complex structures in plant leaves. In future, plants may offer a cost-effective alternative for the production of virus-like particles.
James Berridge, Oxford University, 'TIRF Macroscopy'
Photo: James Berridge, Oxford UniversityThis macro-Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence microscope allows the real-time analysis of membrane proteins in an array of artificial lipid bilayers. In this photo the laser is being aligned and a sample is fluorescing as a result of excitation.
Philippa Hawes, Institute for Animal Health, Pirbright, 'Crimson Forest'
Photo: Philippa Hawes, Institute for Animal Health, PirbrightConfocal image of chicken gut epithelium, labelled with an antibody against the cytoskeletal protein, tubulin. The sample is a 70µm section cut using a vibrating microtome and fluorescently labelled. Previous techniques used to image tissue sections have had to compromise on either antigenicity or structure but using this technique we are able to achieve both.
Oliver Smith, University of Warwick HRI, 'Glasshouse'
Photo: Oliver Smith, University of Warwick HRIStudents check on live experiments in a glasshouse at Warwick HRI. A small army of young researchers are given studentships each year; considering the importance of agricultural research for the future wellbeing of the planet, finding the right people for the job is absolutely imperative.
David Smith, University of Dundee, 'Potato Genome'
Photo: David Smith, University of DundeeThe potato is one of the most economically important crops in the UK. Each year over £40M of potatoes are ruined through parasite spoilage. Sequencing the potato genome is key to developing new strains that show disease and drought resistance. A draft copy of the genome has been prepared through next generation sequencing, though the sequence in the photograph was prepared through lower tech but more laborious means.
Tom Benians, University of Leeds Centre for Plant Sciences, 'Immunolabelling of Cotton Fibres'
Photo: Tom Benians, University of Leeds Centre for Plant SciencesThe cotton fibre, one of the most important crop products in the world, is a single cell that grows up to 6.5 cm from the seed coat epidermis, making it one of nature's longest cells. It is nearly 97% cellulose, and it is the highly crystalline structure of this polysaccharide which is responsible for its strength. In this photo, 50 day old Gossypium hirsutum cotton fibres were labelled with monoclonal antibodies bound to fluorescein (FITC), with specificity to hemicelluloses on the fibre surface. Calcofluor is used to stain cellulose and is seen in blue.
Ben Gazur, University of Edinburgh, 'Hoverflies'
The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the leading funding agency for academic research and training in the United Kingdom, asked its scientists to share images that are beautiful as they are informative taken in the course of everyday research work. As the winning photos show, not only do these researchers have a passion for their science, they’ve got a keen eye for beauty too!
Overall Winner – Weaver Ant Carrying Heavy Weight
Thomas Endlein, University of CambridgePhoto: Thomas Endlein, University of Cambridge
Weaver ants are known for building nests using leaves woven together with silk. They are very territorial and their tendency to defend against intruders can make them a useful tool in controlling agricultural insect pests, avoiding the need for chemical insecticides. They have traditionally been used in this way in Chinese and Southeast Asian citrus orchards for at least 1,500 years.
Concepts Category Winner - A Larva's-Eye View of Tool Use
Jolyon Troscianko, University of BirminghamPhoto: Jolyon Troscianko, University of Birmingham
Concepts Category Runner Up - L106 Surfacing
Emma Foster, University of LeedsSouthern Resident killer whale in Puget Sound, USA. Photo: Emma Foster, University of Leeds
To assess the health of an ecosystem you can look at the health of the top predators in the environment - in this case, killer whales. The Southern Resident killer whale population was classified as endangered in 2006. It is important to increase public awareness of the threats facing these whales and the measures people are going to, to conserve them.
Agriculture, Food, Diet and Health Category Winner - Diversity
Felicity Crotty, North Wyke ResearchMites (Acari), springtails (Collembola) and other insects that were collected from a soil sample. Photo: Felicity Crotty, North Wyke Research
Understanding the ecology of soil will be vital in meeting the challenge of feeding 9 billion people worldwide by 2050.
Agriculture, Food, Diet and Health Category Runner Up - Going Up in Smoke
Rob Wüst, University of LeedsComposite image showing tiny blood vessels from skeletal muscle as viewed under a microscope, with smoke apparently weaving in between.
Photo: Rob Wüst, University of Leeds
This work can also tell us about the fundamental relationships between oxygen supply and utilisation in skeletal muscle tissue.
People Category Winner - Declining Salmon Abundance
Emma Foster, University of LeedsA fisherman catching wild salmon in Puget Sound, USA. Photo: Emma Foster, University of Leeds
Impacts from human beings such as urbanisation, fishing activities, dam building, forestry, agriculture, mining and poor artificial breeding practices have had a profound effect on the depletion of wild salmon stocks. Not only does this affect the animals that rely on wild fish as their primary food source, but also impacts the local fishing communities. Essential research and recovery plans are being carried out.
People Category Runner Up - Theory and Practise
Marcus Fischer, University of YorkA composite image of a researcher working with a pipette and small tube with a sheet of equations overlaid. Photo: Marcus Fischer, University of York
Highly commended images
Eva Thuenemann, John Innes Centre, Norwich, 'The Green Vaccine Machine'Photo: Eva Thuenemann, John Innes Centre
James Berridge, Oxford University, 'TIRF Macroscopy'
Photo: James Berridge, Oxford UniversityPhilippa Hawes, Institute for Animal Health, Pirbright, 'Crimson Forest'
Photo: Philippa Hawes, Institute for Animal Health, PirbrightOliver Smith, University of Warwick HRI, 'Glasshouse'
Photo: Oliver Smith, University of Warwick HRIDavid Smith, University of Dundee, 'Potato Genome'
Photo: David Smith, University of DundeeTom Benians, University of Leeds Centre for Plant Sciences, 'Immunolabelling of Cotton Fibres'
Photo: Tom Benians, University of Leeds Centre for Plant SciencesBen Gazur, University of Edinburgh, 'Hoverflies'
Photo: Ben Gazur, University of Edinburgh
This photo shows a hoverfly on a flower and another in flight. This represents the insect flight paths underpinning the science of pollination and the resulting genetic variation.