A Fascinating Look At The Skeleton

Friday, March 1, 2002

A Fascinating Look At The Skeleton This 3D image of a 72-micron-thick portion of a human thighbone wasvirtually reconstructed into the 3D bone block using biomedical imaging software. (NAPSA)—A new exhibit will take a hard look at hard tissue and its potential application across the scientific spectrum. The exhibition, “The Micro- scope and The Skeleton: A Digital Photomicrography of Hard Tissues,” includes 33 previously unpublished digital micrographs— representing both cutting-edge digital photomicrography and current advances in the field of hard tissue research. A unique property of hardtissues, and the distinguishing theme of the exhibit, is their capacity to record history. Hard tissues reflect, in their structure and composition, variability in growth dueto life stage, maturation events and stress. The goal of hard tissue research is to read the historical record, interpret it and derive meaning from the chronicle of life history events. The goal of this exhibit is to show images that will delight and excite, as well as educate the viewer concerning strategic research problems in the anthropological, biomedical, environmental and space sciences. The exhibit accomplishes this goal at magnifications beyond the resolving capability of the human eye. This is the world’s first fully digital micrographic exhibit, as well as the first exhibit of hard tissue research. The exhibit also contains what many consider the largest photomicrographic repre- sentations—nine feet square— ever exhibited. Among the images being shown are examples of: NASA microgravity research, NOAA research on fish development and environmental stress, mammalian skeletal development and life history, human bone aging and osteoporosis, human dental development and stress, Neolithic bone artifactual evidence for earliest timekeeping, microanatomical bone imaging in 3D and gene knockout mice experiments and bone development. Most images in the exhibit have been taken on microscopes from Leica Microsystems. At least half of the images were imported into the Leica Q600 image analysis system for image processing. The images show both an expression of the microscopic world of hard tissues and the important relationship between science and current trendsin digital imaging. “The Microscope and The Skeleton: A Digital Photomicrography of Hard Tissues” is a presentation of The Analytical Microscopy and Imaging Center in Anthropology and the Hard Tissue Research Unit, exhibited at the Leubsdorf Art Gallery at Hunter College, and will run through March 16, 2002. The curator is Anthropology Professor Timothy Bromage. To learn more, visit the Web site at http://urban.hunter.cuny. edu/amica.

--- PHOTOS ---

File: 20190816-125044-20190816-125042-52858.pdf.jpg

--- FILES ---

File: 20190816-125042-52858.pdf