I’VE ALWAYS been a sucker for scientific imaging competitions, which is just as well as this seems to be one of the main growth areas in science today. Every month seems to bring along a new competition for scientists to enter, or a call for entries to an established competition.
The most interesting time, for me, is the announcement of the winners. Now at last I can consider the artistic and scientific effort that has gone into making these images, some of which take huge amounts of work and some of which present otherworldly vistas that fairly boggle the brain.
Recently the rise of digital video has changed the nature of some of these competitions, including the annual Olympus BioScapes contest which announced its results this week. This time, the winning image was a video rather than a still image.
Click to view the full video on the LabHomepage YouTube channel
And an excellent video it is too. Filmed by a teacher from Australia, Ralph Grimm, it shows rotifers collected from his own garden pond as they engage in feeding activity. I’m not entirely sure why, but this minute-long movie manages to combine undoubted scientific merit with a certain charm.
I’m clearly not the only one to think so, for the video posted on our own YouTube channel just a couple of days ago has already attracted nearly 1200 views. I know from experience that non-mainstream subjects can be very well portrayed by video, but that even those that have a great deal of effort put into their creation can sometimes attract views measured by the dozen rather than the thousand.
Our congratulations, then, to Mr Grimm and to Olympus for making scientific imaging both accessible and engaging .
Finally, our best wishes to all LabHomepage readers (and video viewers) for the festive season. We’ll see you in the New Year.
I hope you find the LabHomepage website, and this weekly newsletter, useful. Comments and feedback are always welcome: news@labhomepage.com Please help us build our circulation base by forwarding this to any friends that might like it, and suggest they subscribe at http://eepurl.com/itOV2
best wishes
Russ Swan
editor, LabHomepage.com
THIS WEEK’STOP STORIES
1. Rotifer video scoops Bioscapes microscopy imaging competition
THE 2012 Olympus Bioscapes microphotography competition has been won by a video showing the feeding habits of freshwater rotifers. The video was made by Ralph Grimm, a teacher from…
2. Detection time for mycoplasma reduced from a month to a day with PCR test
ROCHE reports that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted the use of the Roche MycoTool PCR-based mycoplasma detection test for release testing of…
3. Microscope imaging software ‘breaks the limits’ of resolution
THE LATEST release of MetaMorph software from Molecular Devices enables the online microscopic analysis of cell compartments at nanometre scale, boosting resolution by a factor of…
http://labhomepage.com/3538/microscope/microscope-imaging-software-breaks-the-limits-of-resolution/
4. Continuous flow reactions made easier for simplified chemical synthesis
SYNTHESIS capabilities in the laboratory can be improved using a new range of modular flow systems based on the Binary Pump Module (BPM) and FlowSyn flow reactor from Uniqsis…
5. Better temperature control means better viscometry results
THE LATEST addition to RheoSense’s VROC (viscometer/rheometer-on-a-chip) family, the Microvisc TC, provides precise temperature control for the handheld Microvisc viscometer…
http://labhomepage.com/3551/rheometry/better-temperature-control-means-better-viscometry-results/
6. Nucleation technology can be retrofitted to freeze dryers
SP SCIENTIFIC says that its ControLyo nucleation on-demand technology can now be retrofitted to a wide range of production freeze dryers. The technology was originally developed and…
7. Turbomolecular vacuum pump improves lab efficiency
THE FIRST in a new series of high performance turbomolecular vacuum pumps from Agilent, the TwisTorr 304 FS, has applications in analytical instrumentation, research programmes…
http://labhomepage.com/3564/pump/turbomolecular-vacuum-pump-improves-lab-efficiency/
8. Lonza cell culture media added to Sartorius portfolio
SARTORIUS Stedim Biotech (SSB) is taking over the global sales and marketing of Swiss company Lonza’s cell culture media and buffers used in the manufacture of protein-based therapeutics…
http://labhomepage.com/3557/cell-culture/lonza-cell-culture-media-added-to-sartorius-portfolio/
9. Malvern opens São Paulo applications lab
MATERIALS characterisation instrument maker Malvern Instruments has opened a new applications and demonstration laboratory in Sao Paolo, Brazil. The new laboratory, located within…
http://labhomepage.com/3575/particle-characterisation/malvern-opens-sao-paulo-applications-lab/
10. Bio-Rad closes deal to buy AbD Serotec
BIO-RAD Laboratories has signed a definitive agreement to acquire AbD Serotec, a supplier of antibodies and reagents, from MorphoSys, for €53 million (about US$70 million)…
http://labhomepage.com/3571/antibody/bio-rad-closes-deal-to-buy-abd-serotec/