Photos: The Art of Science
University of Arizona and Ventana Medical Systems scientists capture the complex and the compelling through the camera lens. These photos are from the 2013 UA College of Science special section in the Arizona Daily Star on Dec. 1 - A Community of Minds and Discovery in Tucson – A Science City.
Delicate Arch
Danilo C. Faria, Engineering Technician III, Ventana Medical Systems, Inc. – Delicate Arch, the main attraction of Arches National Park in southwestern Utah, is seen here from a side angle across the canyon. There are a few people around and below it, so the sheer size of the 65-foot, freestanding arch – formed by erosion of Jurassic Entrada sandstone – is apparent. Behind it, a massive summer storm is building in the form of a mountainous, hooded cumulonimbus. Cumulonimbi can easily reach more than 40,000 feet into the atmosphere. More of Faria’s photos are at defariaphotography.com and at 500px.com/DaniloFaria
Zircon crystal
George Gehrels, Arizona LaserChron Center, University of Ariozna department of geosciences — These “growth rings” of a zircon crystal record formation of a plutonic rock 355 million years ago (light blue core), melting of the original rock to form a new plutonic rock 96 million years ago (middle portion), and growth of metamorphic zircon 57 million years ago (light rim).
Fruit fly model of Lou Gehrig's disease assemble
Patty Estes, assistant staff scientist, Zarnescu Lab, University of Arizona de partment of molecular and cellular biology – Motor neurons isolated from a fruit fly model of Lou Gehrig's disease assemble into networks. This image was taken with a confocal microscope.
Comet Hale-Bopp
Stephen Larson and Carl Hergenrother, University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory — This image of the near nucleus head of Comet Hale-Bopp was taken by Larson and Hergenrother with the 20-inch telescope on Tumamoc Hill. A filter was used to isolate the fluorescing carbon monoxide ions interacting with the magnetic field of the solar wind. A bow shock is seen in the lower right. The field is 3 million kilometers across.
Northwestern Argentina
Barbara Carrapa, professor, University of Arizona department of geoscienes — In some of the most remote places in northwestern Argentina, ice structures called nieves penitentes, produced by evaporation of glacial ice at high altitudes, cover the landscape at nearly 18,000 feet near the mouth of a glacier on 22,287-foot Monte Pissis, the third-highest mountain in the Western Hemisphere. At right is her colleague Peter DeCelles.
Mars HiRISE
Patricio Becerra, University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory — This image, taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE), a high-resolution telescopic camera, shows Fabi’s Pit in Mars’ south polar residual cap.
Barn owl
Darlene Buhrow, corporate communications specialist, Ventana Medical Systems Inc. — This young barn owl (Tyto alba), was the star of the show earlier this year at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum’s Raptor Free Flight program. Buhrow is a visual artist who often uses birds she photographs as the main subjects in her artwork. This particular raptor, although not this particular shot, is the main character in one of her pieces on display at Tohono Chul through Feb. 16, 2014.
Prion protein
Anthony Kowal, University of Arizona department of molecular and cellular biology — Structures in this misfolded form of a prion protein, in this case from baker’s yeast, are associated with various neurodegenerative ailments, including Alzheimer’s disease.
Eastern cottonwood
Julie Messier, University of Arizona department of ecology and evolutionary biology — This is a cross-section of an eastern cottonwood twig from Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Quebec. The sections were stained with safranin, which gives the wood its pink color. The pictures are used to calculate resistance to implosion, which is important to hydraulic function and ability to withstand drought.
Itqiy meteorite
Dolores Hill and Andrea Patzer, University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory — This is a photomicrograph of the Itqiy meteorite, a one-of-a kind meteorite. It is an “enstatite achondrite,” which means that its original textures and composition have been changed by heat. It was found in the Western Sahara. The sample is thinner than a piece of paper.
Prion protein
Prasanna Satpute-Krishnan, former graduate student, University of Arizona department of molecular and cellular biology — This prion protein image was captured while conducting thesis studies in the UA laboratory of Tricia Serio. Using baker’s yeast as a model system, the spread of misfolded forms of the prion protein (green),can be studied in live cells. Prion proteins are the causative agents in mad cow and Creuzfeldt-Jakob diseases.
Kanarra Creek Canyon
Danilo C. Faria, Engineering Technician III, Ventana Medical Systems Inc. – Morning sunlight shines into Kanarra Creek Canyon, just outside Zion National Park in southwestern Utah. Slot canyons in the Southwest are usually dry, except during flash floods. But Kanarra Creek flows year-round, making this already beautiful natural wonder even more surreal — adding to its challenge to hikers. More of Faria’s photos are at defariaphotography.com and at 500px.com/DaniloFaria
Mars HiRise camera
NASA/JPL/University of Arizona — These dunes lie on the floor of an old crater in Noachis Terra, one of the oldest places on Mars. When there are perfect conditions for producing sand dunes —steady wind in one direction and just enough sand — barchan sand dunes form. Observing dunes on Mars can tell how strong the winds are, as well as their direction. The color is not what we would see with our eyes because an extra color (infrared) is added.
Arabidopsis stem
Adam Obaidi, former undergraduate researcher, University of Arizona department of molecular and cellular biology — The vasculature system in plants is a series of connected tubes that transport materials and provide support. This is a cross section of an Arabidopsis stem, hand-sectioned and stained with toluidine blue.
Sexual spores of a species of Chaetomium
Justin Shaffer, University of Arizona department of ecology and evolutionary biology — These are sexual spores of a species of Chaetomium, a genus of relatively widespread Ascomycetous fungi, trapped in an air bubble on a glass slide viewed at 1,000X using a Nikon compound photomicroscope. This fungus was isolated from an otherwise healthy sentinel plant used to detect baseline levels of foliar fungi in a greenhouse setting.
Root tip from Arabidopsis thaliana
Adriana Racolta, University of Arizona department of molecular and cellular biology — The green in this stained Arabidopsis thaliana root tip is important for embryo, root and fruit growth.
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Scientists capture the complex and the compelling through the camera lens. It's here where color, shape and texture collaborate, and the art o…