Images captured by Harvard researchers often blur the boundary between art and science. From high-powered microscopes to technology that can render biological tissue transparent, new tools are revealing the world in unexpected and compelling ways, expanding our understanding while showcasing unique beauty.
You can see the world in a biofilm, or the universe in a neural network. Jellyfish, seahorses, and turtles fluoresce in the ocean depths, while deadly diseases shimmer virulently under a microscope.
When viewed under the right conditions, the ordinary becomes extraordinary.
Biopsies from more than 40 tumors were arranged in vertical “posts” in a wax block, sliced into thin sections, and placed on microscope slides. Antibodies were attached to four molecules of interest, allowing researchers to rapidly scan multiple biomarkers over hundreds of tumors and establishing molecular “signatures” while monitoring variability within a single tumor type.
Image by Douglas Richardson, Harvard Center for Biological Imaging, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology
Closeup of a triplefin blenny taken in the Solomon Islands using a stereo fluorescent microscope. This image was part of a study that identified more than 180 new species of biofluorescent fish and helped initiate biofluorescence as a significant area of marine biology. These fish are hard to see on a reef under normal light conditions, but glow vibrantly when illuminated with the fluorescent microscope.
Image by David Gruber, Radcliffe Fellow
Excitatory neurons (red) and the inhibitory neurons (green) of a transgenic zebrafish larva. Labeling subpopulations of neurons in color allows scientists to monitor their activity and understand their role in neural circuits.
Image by Abhinav Grama, Cox Laboratory, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology
Muscle fiber. YAP protein (red) is known to be a key mediator of cellular growth, differentiation, and survival in many systems, such as mammalian muscle, and acts as a sensor, integrating mechanical cues with gene expression.
Image by Margarete Diaz Cuadros, Whited Lab, Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS) Program, Harvard Medical School
Photo 1: A calcium indicator (green) allows scientists to record the activity of neurons in the primary visual cortex and determine the state of the brain’s neural network in response to different visual stimuli. Photo 2: A number of new chemical treatments have been developed by researchers that preserve the protein structure of biological tissue while turning it transparent, allowing specialized microscopes to image neurons through many millimeters of intact tissue.
Image 1 by Abhinav Grama and David Mankus, Cox Laboratory, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology; Image 2 Douglas Richardson, Harvard Center for Biological Imaging, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology
C. elegans, a nematode worm commonly found in soil and compost across the globe, only lives for a few weeks but during that short time displays obvious signs of aging, making it an ideal tool for studying the molecular biology of aging.
Image by Mair Lab, Harvard School of Public Health
Fingertip of the axolotl salamander. Cell nuclei (blue), a component of the cell’s cytoskeleton known as filamentous actin (green) and YAP protein (red), a component of a key signaling pathway in development and growth.
Image by Margarete Diaz Cuadros, Whited Lab, Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS) Program, Harvard Medical School
A developing zebrafish eye three days after fertilization. The dark circle that appears to be a hole in the middle of the eye is the zebrafish lens, the part of the eye that bends light, allowing zebrafish (and other vertebrates) to see distant objects sharply.
Image by Michka Sharpe, Burns Lab, Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS) Program, Harvard Medical School
Image 1: Despite onslaughts from the immune system and drug treatments, tuberculosis kills 1.5 million people each year. To understand how cells respond to tuberculosis infection, researchers wield the latest imaging equipment to visualize microbes, employ advanced genomic methods to trace individual bacterial cells, and cut through an ever-increasing amount of genomic data with powerful mathematical tools. Image 2: Researchers found that c. elegans worms on dietary restriction maintained a youthful splicing pattern (as seen in young worms) compared to the well-fed worm population at the same age. In this image, the worms on the left are well-fed, while the ones on the right have undergone dietary restriction.
Image 1 by Sarah Fortune, John LaPorte Given Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard School of Public Health; Image 2 Caroline Heintz, Mair Lab, Harvard School of Public Health
Podocytes, an essential part of the kidney’s filtration system, are often targeted by kidney diseases and harmed by drugs. To better understand how podocytes function, researchers at the Wyss Institute created a biological model of the cell. Image: Scanning electron micrograph of a human stem cell-derived matured podocyte with multiple primary and secondary processes extending in all directions on extracellular matrix-coated material.
Computational power can be used to train and run artificial neural networks, creates key advances in understanding basis of intelligence in natural and artificial systems