The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the journal Science have announced the winners of the seventh annual International Science & Engineering Visualization Challenge. The competition encourages the communication of science, engineering, and technology through visual media. The submissions were judged in five categories: photography, illustrations, informational posters and graphics, interactive games, and non-interactive media. Here are some of the bio-related winners.
Abstract bio
A 3.5-meter-tall, 3-D art installation that depicts the forces lung cells exert as they form capillaries was a winning entry in the illustrations category. Biologist Peter Lloyd Jones and architect Jenny E. Sabin of the University of Pennsylvania's Sabin + Jones LabStudio created the illustration “Branching Morphogenesis.” The installation demonstrates the dynamic relationships between endothelial cells and their surrounding extracellular environment.
“'Branching Morphogenesis’ not only reveals the inherent beauty and complexity
of cell-extracellular matrix interactions that occur during capillary
formation within the lung, but it also aims to illustrate the underlying,
formerly unseen physical forces that drive this process during development
and disease,” said Jones in a press
release. “Another hope is that this work will inspire scientists and
designers alike to begin to explore the rich possibilities that exist
between the fields of design, computation and matrix biology, within which
code and environment intersect.” The installation was featured on the cover
of the Feb. 19 issue of Science.
Winner of the interactive media category, the “Genomics Digital Lab: Cell Biology” video game was designed to teach high school students about the cycles and pathways that keep the cell alive by generating and burning energy. In the game, students take on the role of plant cell by turning sunlight into electrons and converting sugar into energy.
Jeremy Friedberg—along with his team at Spongelab Interactive in Toronto, Canada—created the game because he believes that educational tools should go beyond rote memorization. “I want to know if my students can think critically and be creative and figure out ways through problems,” he said. “That's what games can do—they can create scenarios that make students problem-solve.”
Homemade epigenetics
“The Epigenetics of Identical Twins” video was a winner in the non-interactive category of the competition. Harmony Starr, Molly Malone, and Brendan Nicholson from the Genetic Science Learning Center at the University of Utah created the video to explain why identical twins, which are indistinguishable as children, develop physical difference by adulthood.
The authors purposely used a low-tech approach to the video, using handmade models, to explain the process of epigenetics. “Because there is so much use of computer graphics [in science videos], we hoped the style of this piece would catch people's attention with its simplicity and quirkiness,” said the center's director Louisa Stark. The video can be viewed here.
The complete list of winners and honorable mentions in each category can be found at the NSF's Web site at www.nsf.gov/news/scivis.