Art in scientific research

Sometimes I rather wonder whether I am doing scientific research or creating abstract art. When AFM (atomic force microscopy) or fluorescence imaging doesn’t turn out the way you expect it to, then the results may very well be suitable as a display of art, I kid you not. Just take a look…

While some friends have mistaken these as images of cells, they are actually AFM images of protein structures on a surface. One friend has commented that they looked like leopard print, while another (who was probably hungry) thought that they reminded her of a spicy hot pot soup. Seems like the images were at least successful in provoking vast imagination 😀

You could say this is a simple wild flower, or maybe a gorgeous supernova. But how about a bursting dragon fruit (or pitaya) or a bunch of coriander, as suggested by my creative friends? Kudos to the food-oriented minds 😉

These images are actually from experiments that were semi-successfully, but they will nonetheless never be published. My dad jokingly said that we could enlarge one of them, print it out and hang it in our living room. Or well, I THINK he was joking… 😛