V UPV Scientific Photography Competition for Helena Dias and Aitor Larrañaga

2014/03/24 Carton Virto, Eider - Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Materialak
• Mikrobiologia
• Irudiak/Soinuak

The photographs “The Dangers of the Oceans” by Helena Dias David and “The Regenerative Embrace” by Aitor Larrañaga Espartero the V Scientific Photography Contest organized by the General Research Service (SGIker) of the UPV. The two awards of the contest.

The first has been awarded in the category of life sciences and the second in the category of materials and science technology. The contest awards the photographs taken under a microscope and in this edition 61 photographs have been presented. The jury highlighted in the awarded works "the spectacularity of the images, the technical difficulty, the scientific result, the originality and the didactic style".

In addition to the award-winning photographs, the 61 photographs submitted to the awards are available on the competition website.

Oceanic risks

Diasena is a microalgae photograph of the genus Ostreopsis using the confocal microscope technique. These marine microalgae (70-90 µm) “are as beautiful as dangerous,” explains Dias in his description, as they contain toxins harmful to human health. The confocal microscope technique allows the visualization of inner plates and organelles that form the outer surface, allowing the identification of the algae.

Regenerative embrace

Larrañaga is a photograph taken using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The photograph shows biodegradable polymer fibres of three microns joined together. The objective is the imitation of collagen fibers through these microfibers, being able to be used someday as a matrix for the regeneration of affected tissues and human organs.