Here's how voxel123 describes the picture above:

Some time ago, I built a Lego MRI system as a giveaway for a pediatric radiologist and had it CT scanned later.

This is a volume rendering based on the axial scan. Note that the density of the bricks is different for each color.

Link: Lego MRI...

(hat tip: SCOPE blog @ Stanford Medicine)

Link: Nikon Small World 2009 Winners...

Watch the full video produced for Zirus here...

Link @ NPR: CDC: Swine Flu Cases Widespread And Rising...

Zirus homepage...

XVIVO flashbacks: The Inner Life of the Cell; The Inner Life of the Cell: A Full Version ; Can a Digital Projected Heart Replace a Much Beloved Solid One?

Nineteen extraordinary images have been chosen by a panel of judges based on the ability of the picture to communicate the wonder and fascination of science. From capillary networks and liver cells to summer plankton and bird of paradise seeds, miniature worlds are explored through microscopy and electron micrographs. Cutting-edge techniques reveal the intricate nerve endings around our hair follicles, and the beautiful patterns in compact bone and aspirin crystals. The selected images are now on display at Wellcome Collection, as well as on the Image Awards website, which explains the stories behind the pictures: how the images were created, what they add to scientific understanding and why the judges picked them out as the best images this year.

To mark the tenth Wellcome Image Awards, two additional categories were included this year in photography and illustration.

There were also two special awards, one given to the makers of animations showing the intricate structure of a mouse's head during development and the other for the unique capture of sensory nerve endings, both showing an astonishing level of detail and accuracy that has previously not been possible with conventional microscopy techniques.

Link: Wellcome Image Awards Winners' Gallery...

Press release: Wellcome Image Awards reveal the stories behind science...

Sci-Fi Surgery: Medical Robots is the theme for the latest exhibition in the Qvist Gallery at the Hunterian Museum. The exhibition runs from 8 September to 23 December 2009 and explores the fascinating world of medical robotics including the pioneering Probot (1991), a robot designed to aid prostate gland surgery, Freehand, a robotic camera holder for keyhole surgery as well as mini-robots designed to make their own way around the inside of the human body.

Many of these robots are still at the prototype stage. Exhibits include the prototype Robotic Camera Pill (2005). Swallowed by patients in pill form, doctors will guide the robot by remote-control, using images beamed back to a screen. Also included is the ARES Robot prototype (2009) which will require patients to swallow up to 15 different modules. Once inside the body the modules will assemble themselves into a larger device capable of carrying out surgical procedures.

Robots and related technologies are being designed to support every area of patient care. Toumaz Technology’s ‘Digital Plaster’ 2009 monitors a patient’s vital signs and alerts doctors if results fall outside predicted ranges. Sophisticated nursebots like ‘Pearl’ and Japan’s ‘RI-MAN’ are a futuristic solution to the care needs of an increasing elderly population.

The exhibition will also feature some famous medical robots from the world of science fiction, from the 1920s ‘Pyschophonic Nurse’, to Japanese Manga (printed cartoons) and Anime (animated films), and Britain’s own 2000AD, and ask whether science fiction reflects fact, or if scientists are inspired by the representation of medical robots in films, books and comics.

Sci-Fi Surgery: Medical Robots also marks the 20th anniversary of the death of Manga artist and animator Osamu Tezuka whose creations include ‘Astroboy’ and the maverick surgeon ‘Black Jack’. Tezuka trained as a doctor but never practiced, choosing to follow his dream of becoming a manga artist. Many of his stories feature medical themes and one of his earliest works, ‘The Monster on the 38th Parallel’, has miniaturised humans entering a body to fight disease and is thought to have been the inspiration for the 1966 Sci-Fi classic ‘Fantastic Voyage’.

Link @ Royal College of Surgeons of England: Sci-Fi Surgery: Medical Robots...

Mike Thompson's thoughts on this design:

The average American consumes 3383kwh of energy per year. That’s equivalent to leaving the light on in 4 rooms for a whole year. The simple flick of a switch allows us to power appliances and gadgets 24/7 without a thought to where it comes from and the cost to the environment.

For the lamp to work one breaks the top off, dissolves the tablet, and uses their own blood to power a simple light. By creating a lamp that can only be used once, the user must consider when light is needed the most, forcing them to rethink how wasteful they are with energy, and how precious it is.

We'll still stick with normal electricity for our blogging, though.

Mike Thompson: Blood Lamp...

(hat tip: Gizmodo)

Full announcement from the ACS: American Chemical Society announces winner of second nanotechnology video contest...

More of Olivier Trillon's works from Trend.Land...

(hat tip: Interior design room)

Here are the five winners and their works above (left to right, top to bottom):

First Prize: Li Ang, National University of Singapore (Singapore)

Second Prize: Sander Otte, NIST-Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (United States)

Third Prize: Sviatlana Abetkovskaia, A.V. Luikov Heat and Mass Transfer Institute (Belarus)

Fourth Prize: Francesco Mantegazza, Universita' degli studi di Milano-Bicocca (Italy)

Fifth Prize: Mar Cardellach Redon, Centre d'Investigació en Nanociencia i Nanotecnologia (Spain)

Link: Gallery of submissions to the SPMAGE09 contest...

(hat tip: Nanowerk)

Here's what the artist/scientist tells Medgadget about the works:

They illustrate the coping strategies that bacteria have learned to employ, strategies that involve cooperation through communication. These selfsame strategies are used by the bacteria in their struggle to defeat our best antibiotics. Thus, if we understand the mechanisms behind the patterns, we can learn how to outsmart the bacteria - for example, by tampering with their communication - in our ongoing battle for our health.

In a sense, the strikingly beautiful organization of the pattern reflects the underlying social intelligence of the bacteria. The once controversial idea that bacteria cooperate to solve challenges has become commonplace, with the discovery of specific channels of communication between the cells and specific mechanisms facilitating the exchange of genetic information. Retrospectively, these capabilities should not have been seen as so surprising, as bacteria set the stage for all life on Earth and indeed invented most of the processes of biology. As we try to stay ahead of the disease-causing varieties of these versatile creatures, we must use our own intelligence to understand them. These images remind us never to underestimate our opponent.

Link: Theories of Mind Art Gallery...