Blurring the line between science and art are the images selected for IO9's Best Scientific Images review. This unique collection of images range from human anatomical images to embryonic zebra fish. Many of which were taken with scanning electron microscopes and then artfully colored in post. Of course, the process behind each varies depending upon subject matter (which will influence, size, and method of detection). Researchers from across the world submitted images (many of which can be found here) and 8 were selected to be featured in IO9's rundown.
"I’m always on the lookout for new and interesting specimens to image and when I had kidney stones a few years ago I managed to collect one. I decided to image in the light microscope, Micro CT and also under the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The resulting image was taken using a Zeiss MA10 SEM and false coloured using Adobe Photoshop. The size of the stone is 2mm across (which is quite small for a kidney stone)."
"I was very happy to have another two images selected for the awards, one was a Scanning Electron Micrograph of a single head louse egg attached to a human hair."
"My image depicts the nerve fibres, or wiring, of the healthy human brain. Brain cells communicate with each other through these fibres and we can visualise them in every individual using a specialised MRI scan. The colours represent the direction of the fibres: blue for those that travel up and down; green for front to back; and red for left to right."
"Scanning electron micrograph of a four-day-old zebrafish embryo. To capture this image, the zebrafish was physically attached to a stub (specimen holder) by its tail and tilted to 65 degrees. As zebrafish embryos are approximately 1cm in length, making the whole embryo too big to be captured in a single image, three separate images had to be taken along its length and then stitched together digitally. Colour was then added to the black-and-white image."
"X-ray projection of a brown long-eared bat hunted and killed by a domestic cat. The bat’s height is about 5cm."
That. Bat.
Stunning. Absolutely hauntingly stunning.
"To capture this image, the zebrafish was physically attached to a stub (specimen holder) by its tail and tilted to 65 degrees."
So they freaking nailed a fetus to a board? How cruel!