Andor’s Insight Awards reveal the artistic side of science

Three visually stunning and scientifically captivating entries have won their categories in the Andor Insight Awards Scientific Imaging Competition, held by Andor Technology plc.

Fernando Amat of Howard Hughes Medical Institute won the Life Sciences category in the Andor Insight Awards. Images courtesy of Andor Technology plc.

Fernando Amat of Howard Hughes Medical Institute was tops in the Life Sciences category, and Jamie Kasuboski of The Waitt Advanced Biophotonics Center Core at The Salk Institute for Biological Studies won in the Imaris category. Stephen DeCamp of Brandeis University topped the Physical Sciences category.

Amat’s entry was a video titled “Global nuclei tracking in the Drosophila syncytial blastoderm,” which captures part of the mitotic cycle in a Drosophila embryo. This technique allows rendering and tracking of cell components with an efficiency of more than 95 percent. It was captured using a multiview light-sheet microscope equipped with two Andor Neo sCMOS cameras.

Jamie Kasuboski of The Waitt Advanced Biophotonics Center Core at The Salk Institute for Biological Studies won in the Imaris category.

Kasuboski’s entry, “Whole Mouse Brain 3D Reconstruction,” shows in incredible detail an Imaris 3-D reconstruction of a mouse brain, including proteins and neuron structure. Later analysis counted which regions of the brain contained specific cell types, providing a powerful insight into the wiring of the brain.

All entries can be viewed at www.theinsightawards.com.