The DNRF Photo Competition 2019

In 2018, the Danish National Research Foundation launched a photo competition. Again in 2019, researchers competed for the best photo of the year. Below, you can see the winning pictures and find links to interviews with the winners, who explain the fascinating research behind the pictures.

Photos have the ability to unseal the world of science in a surprising and inviting way by revealing its beauty or otherwise fascinating appeal. The DNRF would like to share with a broader audience how scientific discovery each day advances our knowledge of ourselves and the world we live in. To this end, and for the second time, the foundation has launched a photo competition based on the photograph’s potential as documentation and communication of scientific research.

Below, you can see the winning pictures and find links to interviews with the winners, who explain the fascinating research behind the pictures.

Selection criteria:

Degree to which the photo evokes emotions in the observer
Degree to which the photo works as visual entry point to the story behind the specific research result
Aesthetic quality of the photo

The selection panel:

Christine Buhl Andersen, Director at Ny Carlsberg Glyptoteket
Louise Wolthers, Research Manager/Curator at the Hasselblad Foundation
Minik Rosing, Professor at the Natural History Museum, board member at the DNRF and Louisiana Museum of Modern Art

First prize: Two root nodules. Niels Sandal, senior researcher, Aarhus University

The panel’s review:

Two root nodules by Niels Sandal. The photo is magical and not immediately open to interpretation. It is not possible to see whether the scale is at a cellular level or a cluster of galaxies, but the observer is drawn to the world that opens up in the picture. Further, the photo is very beautiful and well composed, and it gives a sense of movement and space. The scientific content is important as it shows how the scientist works with the symbiosis between bacteria and plants, which thereby can grow without addition of nitrogen fertilizer.

Read the interview with Niels Sandal about the science behind the photo here

Second prize: A hedgehog getting a dental examination. Sofie Lund Rasmussen, Ph.D student, University of Southern Denmark and Naturama

The panel’s review:

“A hedgehog getting a dental examination” by Sofie Lund Rasmussen. The photo exudes horror in contrast to the cute hedgehog we all know from the garden. There is no technological filter between the motif and the observer. It infuses respect for nature and its creatures. The photo illustrates research on the familiar nature driven by care for wild animals, here the dental health of wild hedgehogs. It illustrates both scientific curiosity and empathy with the animals we live among.

Read the interview with Sofie Lund Rasmussen about the science behind the photo here

Third prize: Brain cancer cell on the go.Johann Mar Gudbergsson, Ph.D. student Aalborg University

Brain cancer cell on the go, Johann Mar Gudbergsson, Aalborg University

The panel’s review:

“Brain cancer cells on the go” by Johann Mar Gudbergsson. The photo has a visual beauty that holds a sense of movement that underpins the invasive character of the depicted cancer cells. There is a demonic dimension in the motif that communicates the seriousness of the disease and, in that, the importance of the researcher’s work.

Read the interview with Johann Mar Gudbergsson about the science behind the photo here

Gallery with some of the submitted photos

The therapy resistance of many brain tumors is linked to a strong heterogeneous morphology, which involves infiltrative growth, necrotic sectors, sectors with loss off differentiation and polarity, and a constant high level of plasticity. When exposed to various stresses, the tumor responds through different mechanosensing pathways. This is associated with the gain of stem-like properties and the ability to withstand therapy and cause sub-sequent recurrence. We follow these morphological responses by 3D dynamic (light-sheet) imaging of brain cancer spheroid models. The sample is nucleic acid stained and not fixed - which allows for dynamic measurements – and we obtain single-cell resolution on the length scale of an entire tumor model (up to 1 mm).

Brain Cancer Model, Photo: Kristoffer Laugesen, the Niels Bohr Institute

The image was generated in Fiona Watt’s lab at King’s College London, a member of the DNRF-funded center CellPAT. It shows human skin cells growing on a structured surface, allowing researchers to study how cells detect and respond to their surroundings. The green colour illustrates the protein F-actin, a vital component of the cell’s internal skeleton, while the blue spheres are the nucleus, the central hub of the cell responsible for storing genetic information. By monitoring the formation of smaller, dense points of green signal, we can deepen our understanding of how cells interact with surrounding tissue.

Human Skin Cells, Photo: Anne Færch Nielsen, CellPAT, Aarhus University

Our cells are normally colourless, but through a combination of various dyes, targeting different parts of the cell, we can bring to life what is otherwise hidden. And with ultra-resolution microscopy can we in detail show cell structures less than 1 m (1/1000 part of a cm!). I use immunofluorescent microscopy to follow different components of cancer cells after treatment and study how they react. The more we can see – the more we know.

Immunofluorescent microscopy of cancer cells, Photo: Lea Milling Korsholm, Danish Cancer Society Research Center

Under Kardiologisk Stamcellecenter på Rigshospitalet, belyser jeg hvordan behandling med stamceller kan hjælpe hjertepatienter. Særligt for patienterne er, at de har udtalt grad af iltmangel i hjertevævet, som fører til dannelsen af arvæv. Billedet viser et vævsnit fra en rotte med tilsvarende sygdom. Dette er ikke taget for at illustrere vævskaden, men fordi jeg synes, at det figurativt fortæller vores historie godt: Den omfattende blå farve er arvæv, og de udstrakte røde celler forsøger desperat at holde sammen på det hele. Centralt hviler nogle få vigtige celler: De røde blodceller, som skal bringe nyt ilt til vævet.

Photo: Morten Juhl, Rigshospitalet Hjertecenter

From a single liver cell suspended in a three dimensional hydrogel matrix a big round hepatic spheroid has grown. Liver cells obtain enough nutrition over four weeks to grow into huge spherical colonies where each colony stem from a single liver cell, by submerging the hydrogel matrix with liver cells in cell medium, replenished two times a week. 30 confocal laser scanning microscopy images in depth together capture the surface of a big spheroid and a slight image of another spheroid lying behind it.

Photomicrograph of a hepatic spheroid, Photo: Morten Leth Jepsen & Andreas Willumsen, IDUN, Technical University of Denmark

This SEM image is taken from graphite microelectrode sample for electrochemical sensor. This image shown that one material (graphite) can show different microstructure when it is treated differently. Thus, can be applied for different purposes. The left side (fall leaves structure) is produced when the graphite is simply polished with normal A4 paper. It has low capacitive current which is useful to immobilize DNA for genosensor. The right (rocky structure) is generated when the graphite is polished with sand paper, producing many edge planes which is best for protein immobilization for biosensor application. This image is taken when I did my PhD at Interdiscpinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO), Aarhus University, Aarhus-Denmark.

Two opportunities, Photo: Deby Fapyane, Aarhus University

Billedet viser svampe (røde celler) og forskellige bakterietyper (lilla og grønne celler), der koloniserer på en tand med caries. Forskningen giver ny viden om, hvordan svampe lever og interagerer med bakterier og hvordan dette samspil potentielt kan påvirke miljøet i tandbelægningen. Der er brugt en molekylærbiologisk teknik kaldet ”fluorescens in situ hybridisering”, der giver mulighed for at identificere de forskellige mikroorganismer i naturlige tandbelægninger ved hjælp af fluorescens mikroskopi.

Landscape of fungi, Photo: Irene Dige, Aarhus University

The photo shows two nodules on the root of the leguminous plant Lotus japonicus. This plant exists in a symbiosis with the earth bacteria Mesorhizobium loti. In the symbiosis the bacteria obtain carbohydrates from the plant, and the bacteria deliver fixed nitrogen to the plant. Therefore, the plant can do without nitrogen fertilizer. The bacteria are colored with LacZ (dark blue), and the plant’s cell nuclei are colored with DAPI. The nuclei are seen as light blue dots. You can see the bacteria in the young nodule and on the surface of the older nodule. In our research group, we have isolated many of the plant genes that are necessary for symbiosis.

Two root nodules. Photo: Niels Sandal, Aarhus University

The photo shows brain cancer cells of the type glioblastoma multiforme in movement, which are stained for DNA (blue) and actin cytoskeleton (red). The cell in the center of the photo is polynuclear, meaning that it contains multiple nuclei and therefore more DNA, which is often associated with cancer stem cells. Those are quite happy to move around, which can be seen in the photo by the long cellular process that stretches away from the blue nuclei. This shows the directions in which the cancer cell is heading. In patients with this type of brain cancer, it is the invasive cancer cells that constitutes a huge problem, because, with current treatments, they are impossible to exterminate. By invading healthy brain tissue, they are capable of using the brain’s own protection mechanisms, which, among other things, prevent harmful substances from entering the brain, and thereby also part of the compounds available for treatment.

Brain cancer cells on the go, Photo: Johann Mar Gudbergsson, Aalborg University

The DNRF Photo Competition 2019