[meteorite-list] Is that beer on your tie? (yes, on-topic)

From: Darren Garrison <cynapse_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sat Oct 21 07:07:59 2006
Message-ID: <0mvjj2p3fcg5ma1t7rck1td1t49ki3sra7_at_4ax.com>

Don't know if they are serious about the mention of meteorites or not, but if so
some of us might want to take them up on the offer.

http://www.the-scientist.com/news/display/25122/;jsessionid=448543B377A09AAA4E7FF120AC9CB3BF

Is that beer on your tie?
A molecular biophysicist helps fund his lab with lush microphotos that decorate
neckties, calendars and greeting cards

[Published 20th October 2006 03:41 PM GMT]

In Michael Davidson's photographs, a Tylenol pill looks like a tie-dyed
explosion, a drop of Pina Colada appears to be an array of peacock feathers, and
an Intel microprocessor resembles a futuristic urban map. To achieve these
effects, he gets close to his subjects -- really close.

For the past 35 years, the molecular biophysicist, who heads up the Microscopy
Office at Florida State University's National High Magnetic Field Laboratory,
has captured the intricate universes under his microscope slides and developed
them into vivid works of abstract art. The lush images have been reproduced on
neckties, calendars, sportswear, and greeting cards.

Though he never studied art or photography, Davidson has landed an astonishing
1,500 magazine covers. And his lab's artistic arm, Molecular Expressions, has
created nearly 750,000 images, including microphotos of DNA, vitamins,
pharmaceuticals and beer, to name a few. (The lab is always looking for original
samples. Should you have any dinosaur bones or meteorites lying around and be
willing to make a short-term loan, they'll deliver free color microprints of the
objects in return.)

The team is well versed in technologies ranging from confocal microscopy to
live-cell imaging, but turning science into art presents a new set of technical
challenges. To create his striking images, Davidson had to find ways to bridge
the gap between what he saw through his microscope and what the camera lens saw.
Because the eye detects more fluctuations along the color spectrum, the
challenge has been creating specimens that work as well for the camera as they
do for the human eye. For starters, the molecules have to be in crystalline
form, so that they will generate the contour-revealing colors of polarized
light.

In a touch of poetic justice, it's the defects that reveal the most striking
designs and patterns. "A flawless diamond would just look like a mirror under
the microscope," Davidson said.

Preparing the specimens can take weeks or months. Davidson's expansive
collection of microimages of beer, for example, was particularly grueling to put
together. "A lot of beers are pretty close to one another, chemically speaking,"
he explained. "Only a few motifs are different, yet we had to assign a distinct
pattern to each brand."

Once the specimen is ready, an understanding of composition is essential to good
microphotography, said Davidson, who now uses digital instruments to snap the
shots. "The way a photograph is framed has a dramatic impact," he said, noting
that that's what he most impresses upon his lab employees, now that he has
stepped into a less hands-on role in the microphotography enterprise. "Rather
than do it myself, I critique the others. I'm trying to generate baby Picasso
microphotographers!"

When not honing their aesthetic sense, the lab members are developing
microscopic techniques. In September, Davidson and colleagues published a report
in Science on photo-activation location microscopy, which enables researchers to
see high-resolution single molecules in biological structures.

Despite the success of his microphotography venture, Davidson said he still sees
the art as primarily a way to fund his science habit. "It was a matter of
survival at first; we had been working for funding from NIH for so long. And
then we found we could sell these photos and make more money than I ever
imagined." The neckties alone brought in $1.5 million in the 1990s, with the
beer and cocktail images being the hottest sellers.

Much of the profits were reinvested in lab equipment and used to launch its
extensive educational websites for students of all levels of microscopy.
Davidson's broader mission is to use his compelling images to generate interest
in science. "Someone's not likely to read a paragraph on vitamin D, but if they
see a beautiful picture of it next to the [paragraph], they are more likely to
read it."

Still, "some of the most beautiful things in science, you can't slap up as a
photograph," Davidson said. "Take line DNA replication. It's so complex. The
multiple mechanisms are just incredible. Far more beautiful than any photo I
have taken."
Received on Sat 21 Oct 2006 07:07:35 AM PDT