Remarkable pictures from the world of science

Wellcome Trust competition winners for images from the world of science

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#breastcancer Twitter connections - Over an eight-week period, 92,915 tweets were collected to study the communication of #breastcancer. This graph shows how Twitter users, each represented by a dot called a node, are connected through their retweeting and sharing of this hashtag. Computer analysis has been used to convert this 3D data into a 2D pattern. Image: Eric Clarke, Richard Arnett and Jane Burns, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland

The blood vessels of a pigeon injected with BriteVu, a new material invented by the images creator, Scott Echols. BriteVu allows even the smallest vessels to show up clearly on medical scans. Here, the intricate network of blood vessels found in the pigeons neck can be seen. This extensive blood supply close to the skin is extremely important for allowing the bird to control its body temperature. Image: Scott Echols, Scarlet Imaging and the Grey Parrot Anatomy Project

Cat skin and blood supply - This sample from a Victorian microscope slide shows a section of cat skin, with hairs, whiskers and their blood supply visible. Whiskers are important touch receptors used by cats to detect the vibrations of nearby moving objects. They are also the same width as a cats body, and tell them whether they can squeeze into narrow spaces. Image: David Linstead. Wellcome Images

Blood vessels of the African grey parrot - The entire system of blood vessels can be seen in this African grey parrot. The vessels have been injected using a new material called BriteVu, invented by Scott Echols, so that even the smallest capillaries show up clearly on medical scans. Nearly 3,000 images have been taken from medical scans and used here to create a 3D computer model of the parrots head and neck. Image:Scott Birch and Scott Echols

Vessels of a healthy mini-pig eye - This is a 3D model of a mini-pigs eye, made from the same material as Lego. It is looking to the right and shows the vessels bringing food and energy to the iris, the coloured part of your eye. The iris is connected to muscles that control how much light enters your eye through the pupil.Image: Peter M Maloca, OCTlab at the University of Basel and Moorfields Eye Hospital, London; Christian Schwaller; Ruslan Hlushchuk, University of Bern; Sebastien Barr

Intraocular lens ‘iris clip’ - This image shows how an iris clip is fitted onto the eye. Iris clips are like contact lenses with plastic clips on each side, and are clipped onto the iris, the coloured part of your eye, through surgery. They are used to treat nearsightedness and. This patient, a 70-year-old man, regained almost full vision following his surgery. Image: Mark Bartley, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Surface of a mouse retina - This mouse retina has been coloured to show different types of cells. The retina, at the back of the eye, changes light into messages that the brain can understand. In some older people the retina stops working properly, making it difficult for them to see. Scientists are studying these cells to figure out how we can fix the retina when this happens. Image: Gabriel Luna, Neuroscience Research Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara

The Placenta Rainbow - During pregnancy, the umbilical cord and placenta pass nutrients from the mother to her baby. The nine mouse placentas here are all different, as the mother mice all have slightly different immune systems. The immune system is what protects us from becoming ill. Researchers will study these differences to find out why placentas sometimes don’t work as well as they should. Image: Suchita Nadkarni, William Harvey Research Institute, Queen Mary University of London

Synthetic DNA channel transporting cargo across membranes - Although cells are surrounded by a barrier or membrane to protect their contents, they also need to communicate with the outside environment. They have tube-like channels in their membranes in order to do this. Scientists are making artificial versions of these channels to be used in technologies such as vaccines and biofuels, using DNA as their building blocks. Image: Michael Northrop

Stickman The Vicissitudes of Crohns (Resolution) This image is part of a series surrounding the central character of Stickman, the alter ego of the artist, who suffers from Crohns disease. Stickman?s skeletal body references the weight loss, frailty and abrupt, transformative nature of Crohn?s. We still do not understand what causes Crohns, but scientists believe it is a combination of genetics, our immune system, and environmental factors, such as viruses, stress or smoking. Image Spooky Pooka

‘Hidden Learning’ from the Chrysalis project - Chrysalis is a project that allows women scientists of all ages to talk about any issues they face and to seek inspiration from each other. Chrysalis asked artist Sophie McKay Knight to create paintings about these discussions. In Hidden Learning, Sophie has painted a woman wearing a veil representing the parts of themselves that the women scientists felt they kept hidden from people at work, such as being a mother. Image: Original painting by Sophie McKay Knight, with imagery contributed by women scientists from the University of St Andrews, part of the Chrysalis project coordinated by Mhairi Stewart

Two young boys in rural Nicaragua - In Chichigalpa, chronic kidney disease of non-traditional causes (CKDnT) affects more than half of the adult population. CKDnT is associated with heavy labour in hot temperatures, and affects many agricultural workers. These boys have lost two cousins to CKDnT, both men who worked as cutters in sugarcane fields. The boys mother still works as a cutter in the fields. Image: Joshua Mcdonald

Mon Mar 13 2017 - 15:06

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