Limelight

Year: 
2020
Ranking: 
Honorable Mention
Artist: 
Delany Rodriguez (Post-Doc)
Department: 
Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology

Description

Blood is responsible for ensuring that the body functions properly, yet its work often goes unnoticed. Using high-resolution confocal microscopy, we were able to bring blood into the limelight by capturing moving blood.

Hemodynamics, the study of blood flow, can help determine the cause of decreased flow and clogging of arteries which occurs via accumulation of fatty material (plaque). Understanding hemodynamics can help us fix and potentially prevent plaque formation.

This image shows the blood of the “sea squirt,” or colonial ascidian Botryllus schlosseri circulating within its vasculature. Ascidians are marine animals that have their blood vessels outside of their bodies (extracorporeal vasculature). Although flower-like in appearance, the animals are closely related to vertebrates such as humans. These qualities make Ascidians an excellent species to study.

Link to video

CSEPSchuller LabCNSIUCSBMOXI