© Pint of Science, 2024. All rights reserved.
How can scientists visualise small objects in biology? Different approaches are essential to look at objects which are different sizes or have different dynamics. Join us to learn how Lego can be used to build a simple yet powerful microscope to study cells and developmental biology (and have a go yourself!), and learn about how we can use computers to model real-life interactions between ‘dancing’ molecules in drug design.
A smart LEGO microscope for Biomedicine
Julien Colombelli
(IRB Barcelona)
Imaging biological specimen with microscopes is limited by the opacity of tissues to light. New techniques like optical clearing can overcome this barrier to make entire organs transparent, and biomedical researchers can now study and localize single cells in the context of entire organs, to understand mechanisms like metastasis invasion or Alzheimer disease. The next step is to use a suitable microscope to perform 3D imaging...We have developed a laser microscope built with LEGO bricks that enables scientific 3D imaging with affordable off-the-shelves components, including smartphone cameras.
Rotating molecules in a computer
Francesco Colizzi
(Institute for Research in Biomedicine - IRB Barcelona)
A semi-personal account on the use of computers as molecular microscopes to observe molecules and look at them while they are "dancing" and interacting with each other. All this to better understand biology and design new medicines.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.