Previous Winners

1st Prize - Physical Science

Iron diffusing into titanium at 850°C over 24 hours as observed in an SEM with a 60μm view field. The presence of iron alters the crystal structure as it sweeps from left to right. The free surface  allows the transformation to occur without constraint and the steps seen are directly related to the underlying crystal planes of the material. Video constructed by imaging every 2 minutes in a TESCAN CLARA using a NewTec FurnaSEM heating stage at the University of Manchester

Video by Albert D. Smith (TESCAN-UK), Jiaqi Xu, Jack Donoghue (University of Manchester)

1st Prize - Life Science

There is a universe of dynamic signals inside plants - when a plant is wounded, long-distance calcium signals are transmitted quickly from the wounded leaf to the others! A young Arabidopsis thaliana seedling expressing a fluorescent calcium reporter allows us to visualize those signals via fluorescence live imaging

Video by Annalisa Bellandi, under the supervision of Christine Faulkner and with the support of John Innes Centre Bioimaging team

1st Prize

This time-lapse video demonstrates how cryo-scanning electron microscopy works. Ice on a textured polymer surface was allowed to sublime at -80 °C and 10-4 Pa on a cold stage in a cryo-chamber in 73 min to expose the nanoneedle array hidden underneath. 

Video by Mikiko Tsudome¹ Katsuyuki Uematsu² Toshihiro Kanematsu³ Koji Iwasaki³ Shigeru Deguchi^{1    
1} Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), Japan  ² Marine Works Japan Ltd., Japan  ³ Ricoh Company, Ltd., Japan

2nd Prize

3D imaging via X-ray tomography enables us to look inside samples without destroying them, and be able to track features in 3D. This video displays a 3D rendering of a portion of a stick of rock from Whitby, Yorkshire. For those that aren’t familiar with it, rock is a rod shaped candy that’s traditional at British seaside towns, usually having candied lettering through the centre of wherever you are - in this case, Whitby. It’s given the name rock because its ridiculously hard, and you’re at risk of breaking your teeth! Using this 3D imaging method we can track the lettering in 3D - and I'm sorry to tell you, Whitby rock makers, but your lettering isn't straight! 

Video by Dr Ria L Mitchell, The University of Sheffield

 

 2012 Winners

2008 Winners

 

2010 Winners