Science communication is not limited to writing. This is a collection of projects I have showcased as part of the collaborative group at The University of Edinburgh, FUSION: Art meets Science.
Brain in Bloom
Shayna Seenayah & Lusi Zhao
Nature is an ever-evolving entity, growing, flourishing and blooming. Much like trees, the brain develops and blossoms with time. The development of the brain is governed by many processes, including the generation of specific neurons. We have worked with “mini-brains” in the lab, observing their growth and levels of excitatory and inhibitory neurons, which are two major neuronal classes. We specifically looked at an autism-implicated mutation and how that impacts brain development. To encapsulate our laboratory work and the beautiful symmetry the brain has with trees, we moulded air-drying clay into a cherry blossom bonsai with a brain-like structure as the leafy bulk of the tree. On one side, we displayed green and red foliage to represent the excitatory (green) and inhibitory (red) neurons in our “mini-brains”, that we analysed in microscopy.
Tale as Old as Time
sHAYNA sEENAYAH & lUSI zHAO
Our jar represents sustainability as everything involved in this artwork, including the jar, were found within the office. The rose, given to us on Valentine’s day, was dried to last forever, and the wasp, although dead, kept the ecosystem balanced and sustainable while it was alive.
More artwork to come…
