Winners announced for Imaging in Action photo contest

Sarah L. Stern

Media Cybernetics Inc. recently announced the winners of its 2006 Imaging in Action contest. The first-place submission, by Andres Hidalgo of Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, was a video of leukocytes (white blood cells) exiting blood vessels. The video shows the leukocytes as they are slowed by selectins and directed out of the blood vessels to inflame surrounding tissue. Hidalgo received an $800 gift certificate to amazon.com.

For the winning picture, the researcher used a water-immersion objective. Movies were generated by capturing bright-field and fluorescence images, and the data was changed into a 2-D plot with intensity shown along the Z-axis.

The second-place image was of an air bubble moving through a field of fluorescent microspheres. This video was shot by Ian Clements of Invitrogen Corp. based in Eugene, Ore. The movie, containing 22 frames taken at 200-ms intervals, was made into a time-lapse photograph to allow easier analysis of the microspheres’ movements. Clements received a 60GB iPod with video playback.

The first-place image (left) shows leukocytes as they are slowed by selectins and passed out of the bloodstream. The second-place image (center) shows a bubble moving through a suspension of fluorescent microspheres, and the third-place image (right) is of a balcha indica wasp.

Third place went to a series of images of insects that can be enlarged to poster size while retaining their high resolution. The series was submitted by Klaus Bolte of Natural Resources Canada in Ottawa, who suggests that these enormous photographs of insects would not only be useful as teaching aids, and in insect infestation early-detection systems, but also as home art. Bolte received a 1-GB Iomega Micro Mini USB 2.0 drive.

Started at the beginning of the 21st century, this competition does not judge images solely on their aesthetic appeal. To win, an image also must be significant as a product of scientific research.

Further information on additional entries and previous contests is available on the company’s Web site.