Photo Gallery Beauty in Science
When the praying mantis (Rhombodera basalis) feels threatened, she transforms herself into a dancing alien. This species, native to Malaysia, grows to be as much as 10 centimeters. When the mantis goes into her famous praying pose, she's not paying tribute to a higher authority, but getting ready to spring on its prey.
Fibrin is a protein created by the body that works with platelets in the blood to clot a wound. As they reach the wound site, they attach themselves to fibers, and create a mesh. Working with the platelets, they make a scab that covers the wound until it heals. Though, with the naked eye you would never guess that the process looks like this.
The zebrafish, or zebra danio, is a tropical fresh-water fish not only popular in aquariums around the world, but in research tanks as well. Danio rerio plays an important role in teaching us more about evolution. These two-day old larvae will turn into adult fish in three months. Scientists have found that zebrafish have the ability to regenerate fins, skins, the heart and the brain during the larval stages.
Not every sunflower grows up to reach its idol. Parasites and disease can turn fields of gold into fields of brown. Dr. Damaris Odeny is making it her mission to find out what makes plants more resiliant to pests. "I'm from a country where hunger is still a problem," the Kenyan biologist says, adding that her research could change that.
That's not coral -- but a true-to life model of the human vascular system. This series of veins have been plastinated using a method developed by Dr. Gunther von Hagens, the scientist behind the often controversial Body Worlds exhibits. A liquid plastic gets injected into the blood stream. When it hardens, scientists can study the system as it is in the human body.
Meet Paro. He's a robotic seal developed by Japanese researchers to help dementia patients feel that they have companionship and a feeling of security, without the responsibilities of a living pet. Made to emulate a live pet as much as possible, he can cuddle, nod and blink his big black eyes. Paro is currently being tested with patients in Baden-Baden and there are already 1,000 robot seals deployed in long-term care homes in Japan.
There are approximately 100 billion nerve cells in an adult brian. Each of those communicate with as many as 1,000 other nerves throughout the human body. It's the most complex system in the human body and to study it, scientists use a substance that makes the nerve fluoresce in a scan. The researchers then take pictures of the nerves in action.
Robert Jordan has only one leg, but thanks to a hydraulic prosthesis, he can live his life just as he did before his accident at work. Sensors take as many as 50 measurements per second to determine where and how much force is being applied to the prosthetic. Those measurements are then sent to a micropocessor that then uses a series of algorithms to determine the appropriate movement. That allows Jordan to round up longhorns all day long.
The Tabernas desert in Spain gets 320 days of sun a year, which made it the perfect place for the Plataforma Solar de Almería (PSA). The German Aerospace Center (DLR) has been part of the solar energies research facility since its beggining in 1981. More than 20,000 square-meters of mirrors fill the 100 hectare facility -- that's as big as 225 football fields.
Julia Stoess works at making small things into something that can be studied with the naked eye. She makes exact models of insects, with the only difference being their size. This model of a misquito is 60 times bigger than its live counterpart.
To make the Audi R8's aluminum frame, the body of the car goes into an oven heated 185 Celsius (365 Fahrenheit). Sensors placed along the car make sure it gets baked evenly. Here, a worker at the Audi factory in Neckarsulm gives a done frame a once-over. Aluminum frames are mostly used in luxury and sports-model cars.
Just like his flesh-and-blood counterparts, "AquaPenguin" can dive and swim through the waters. He navigates the seas on his own, using the same sonar principles dolphins use to communicate with the environment around him.
A cross-section of muscle tissue, surrounded by the extracellular tissue that acts as the connective tissue. Each muscle fiber is joined together by the connective tissue to make up the complete muscle. Myasenthia is an neuromuscular disease caused by a faulty relationship between the two.
I2D2 is one of the newest team members in the field of computer chip production. It's his job to stabalize temperatures during the manufacturing process. Day and night he patrols the facility, an area of more than 10,000 square meters (108,000 square feet) to ensure the chips are at the right temperature. He already has more than 75 kilometers logged on his odometer.
In honor of Charles Darwin's 200th birthday and the 150th anniversary of his masterpiece, "On the Origin of Species," two members of the daisy family show how they've evolved to adapt to their surroundings. Each have changed in order to make it easier for insects to get to their pollen.
An electron microscope catches the immune system blooming into action. A white blood cell (red) wraps itself around a mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of most cases of tuberculosis. Phagocyte, as a white blood cell is known as, comes from the Greek word phagein (to eat), and that's what the cell does, rendering the infectious cell benign.
In order to accurately measure the amount of electroradiation that a new television produces, a researcher has to be in a completely sound-proof room. This makes the job a very isolating one.
