快猫短视频

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鈥淚 WANT a scarf that looks like that.鈥� So remarked one member of the 快猫短视频 art department upon seeing the micrograph of cell division (far right) that received a special honour at this year鈥檚 Wellcome Image Awards. But the image, by Fernan Federici and Lionel Dupuy of the University of Cambridge, is not just a pretty picture 鈥� it contains information about gene expression in the stem of genetically modified thale cress, or Arabidopsis thaliana.

The 21 award winners, selected from over the last 18 months, were chosen both for their ability to enhance scientific understanding and for their aesthetic appeal.

Many use colour to better illustrate hard-to-see features. Take the micrograph of a cavefish embryo by Monica Folgueira and Steve Wilson of the University of California, Los Angeles (top left). The green stain reveals the fish鈥檚 taste buds and the presence of calretinin, a calcium-binding protein, providing information about the fish鈥檚 nervous system.

Similarly, Spike Walker has used a colour filtering technique called Rheinberg illumination to highlight different textures on the foreleg of a male diving beetle (top right). The orange suckers, which help a male hold onto a female during mating, protrude from the blue joint in the front leg.

Using false-colour techniques, Dave McCarthy and Annie Cavanagh draw out the detail of a honeybee鈥檚 anatomy (right), highlighting its fluffy thorax and the difference between its three pairs of legs, which vary in shape according to their function.