Description

This Andy Warhol inspired collage is made from a high magnification image of a specialized type of central nervous system cell called the astrocyte.  In this image, astrocytes can be seen wrapping around a blood vessel within the mouse retina. Much like Warhol, this image plays with the idea of how the eye functions to produce vision, and how art and science can be used to change the way people see the world.

This image was acquired on a confocal microscope and is taken at a 40X magnification.  The cells were stained with an antibody that recognizes a protein specific to astrocyte cells. This experiment sought to examine if genetic manipulations to the astrocytes affected the way that they interacted with blood vessels.  This research aims to elucidate how the central nervous system (made up of the brain, spinal cord, and retina) develops.