Animation for biology education
Cellular Visions: The Inner Life of a Cell
This animation demo shows how biology may be taught in the near future.
Caveats:
“In some instances, that meant sacrificing literal accuracy for visual effect. What we did in some cases, with the full support of the Harvard team, was subtly change the way things work,” Liebler says. “The reality is that all that stuff that’s going on in each cell is so tightly packed together that if we were to put every detail into every shot, you wouldn’t be able to see the forest for the trees or know what you were even looking at. One of the most common things we did, then, was to strip it apart and add space where there isn’t really that much space.”
There isn’t a soundtrack to explain what you are seeing and the animation sequences jump too much for teaching. However, if you know some microbiology you can recognize much of what is being shown.
hi res version
http://aimediaserver.com/studiodaily/videoplayer/?src=harvard/harvard.swf&width=640&height=520
That is a neat video. I could identify most, though not all, of the processes being depicted. I especially liked the fluid cell membrane, complete with lipid rafts (the closely packed jiggling blue blobs with the bigger molecules and blue “platforms” floating among them), the actin polymerization (the cable-like structures growing at the end in a spiral fashion stating about 1 minute into the clip), the microtubule depolymerization (the “fraying cable” starting around 1:10), and the vesicle transport (the big blobs carried by the “walking” proteins).
I also like the look of the strands being pulled through the pores and joined into loops, but I don’t exactly get what’s going on there. I would guess it’s mRNA being exported from the nucleus, given that a ribosome is shown in the next scene, but why it forms a loop structure isn’t clear.
Arosko: the vesicle transport- was that the thing that looked like Mickey-mouse feet walking along? Don’t recall learning about that…
jamie ? the vesicle transport- was that the thing that looked like Mickey-mouse feet walking along? Don’t recall learning about that…?
Yes. I was surprised to see the size difference between the motor protein structure and the vesicle. I?d imagined much smaller vesicles. Vesicle transportation is important for nerve processes. Diffusion is far too slow to transport molecules from the nucleus to extreme axon tips. Vesicles have surface proteins that attach to specific labeling proteins on the motor protein structures. Thus the vesicle can grab the right transport complex and be carried to the correct destination.
The real process is far more complicated than the animation shows, with roadways being blocked and alternate pathways being taken. The movement is jerky, not smooth.
It is really fascinating.
Amazing video, thanks Razib
hatforum.com/bulletin/viewtopic.php?t=2646&highlight=
A better quality version can be found here:
http://www.sciencec
My friend from IRC has put a small description of some of the processes depicted in the video here:
http://aimediaserver.com/studiodaily/videoplayer/?src=harvard/harvard.swf&width=640&height=520
genemachine