Scientific wonders get an artistic spin

These photos and illustrations won top honors in this year’s International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge.

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Illustration: Honorable Mention

When a cell (blue) divides, its chromosomes (yellow) stretch and pull, as dramatized in this 3-D illustration.

Andrew Noske, Thomas Deerinck, National Center for Microscopy & Imaging Research, University of California San Diego; Horng Ou, Clodagh O'Shea, Salk Institute /

Illustration: Honorable Mention

A forest of microscopic nanotubes stand tall in this illustration; engineers can sculpt the tiny tubes to conduct heat and electricity, with the goal of one day speeding up computers.

Joel Brehm

Illustration: Honorable Mention

A breast cancer cell looms like a monster in this illustration; the green triangles represent a new drug sent to battle it.

Emiko Paul and Quade Paul / Echo Medical Media/Rom Ganble/UAB Insight

Photography: People's Choice

The National Science Foundation says, "This landscape, which looks like a red-rock bluff straight out of Utah, isn't a geologic feature. Instead, it's a nanostructured material made from ultrathin layers of titanium-based compounds and seen under an electron microscope. These exfoliated layers, which Babak Anasori and colleagues at Drexel University in Philadelphia dubbed MXenes, are so thin they are two-dimensional. In other words, each strip is only five atomic layers thick. The team is the first to render such materials in 2D. The MXenes could be used in energy storage devices, sensors, solar cells, and other applications, the team writes. And they could give the majesty of Arches National Park in Utah some nanoscale competition."

Babak Anasori, Michael Naguib, Yury Gogotski, Michel W. Barsoum / Drexel University

$The National Science Foundation says, 'The photographer for this close-up, vibrant shot of a young cucumber used a polarizing microscope. Unlike microscopes that use normal, unpolarized light, these microscopes record the refraction of light as it passes through small objects to produce sharp, colorful images. The structures shown here at 800× magnification are trichomes. They coat the surface of growing cucumbers and look, to the naked eye, like a thin film of fuzzy hair. The tips of trichomes taper to a point that can pierce the mouths of predators, and their bulbous bases are filled with bitter-tasting and toxic molecules called cucurbitacins.'$

Photography: Honorable Mention

The National Science Foundation says, "The photographer for this close-up, vibrant shot of a young cucumber used a polarizing microscope. Unlike microscopes that use normal, unpolarized light, these microscopes record the refraction of light as it passes through small objects to produce sharp, colorful images. The structures shown here at 800× magnification are trichomes. They coat the surface of growing cucumbers and look, to the naked eye, like a thin film of fuzzy hair. The tips of trichomes taper to a point that can pierce the mouths of predators, and their bulbous bases are filled with bitter-tasting and toxic molecules called cucurbitacins."

Robert Rock Belliveau, MD

Photography: First Place

The National Science Foundation says, "This beautiful set of concentric rings and shapes is actually a metabolic look at the wide diversity of cells in the eye of a mouse. In all, 70 different types of cells are depicted, from muscles to retina, each colored a unique shade. Muscle cells, located at the left edge of the image, look pale yellow, whereas scleral tissue, surrounding the entire orb, shows up green in this image."

Bryan William Jones / University of Utah/Moran Eye Center

Featured Photo Galleries

PARIS, FRANCE - MAY 29: Serena Williams of USA stretches to plays a forehand in her women's singles first round match between Serena Williams of USA and Virginie Razzano of France during day three of the French Open at Roland Garros on May 29, 2012 in Paris, France. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

French Open results: Serena Williams loses, Maria Sharapova cruises

The American tennis star lost in the first round of a Grand Slam event.

Winnie Pajcic, 9, holds on to a railing as she leans back in the wind during a visit to Stockton Park in Ortega, Fla., in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Beryl on Monday May 28, 2012. Beryl came ashore early Monday near Jacksonville Beach with near-hurricane-strength winds of 70 mph. (AP Photo/The Florida Times-Union, Kelly Jordan)

Tropical storm Beryl, Flugtag, Rolling Thunder, Memorial Day and more in the day in photos

Tropical storm Beryl, Flugtag, Rolling Thunder, Memorial Day and more.

Camels rest at a watering hole outside the town of Aleg May 25, 2012. REUTERS/Joe Penney (MAURITANIA - Tags: ANIMALS SOCIETY)

Camels, tigers, turtles, a giant stag beetle and more in animal views

Camels, tigers, turtles, a giant stag beetle and more.

ANNAPOLIS, MD- MAY 29: Graduates cheer as the Blue Angels fly over during the 100th anniversary of the United States Naval Academy Graduation and Commissioning Ceremonies in Annapolis, Maryland, on Tuesday, May 29, 2012. U.S Sec. of Defense Leon Edward Panetta gave the graduation address. (Photo by Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post)

U.S. Naval Academy graduation

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta gave the commencement address at the ceremony.

LAS VEGAS, NV - MAY 26: Singer/actress Jennifer Lopez (C) performs with dancers during the Q'Viva! The Chosen Live show at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on May 26, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Eye on entertainment

Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, Lil Jon, Eddie Van Halen, Mariah Carey and other celebrities.

Doc Watson, bluegrass and folk legend, dies at 89

The blind singer and guitarist was a Grammy winner, known for his flat-picking style of guitar playing.

Henry, a calf, sustained a head wound and required stitches after being slashed over the weekend.

Farm animals attacked in Fairfax

A calf, two goats and a chicken were slashed over the weekend at Frying Pan Farm Park in Herndon.

COVINGTON, LA - MAY 14: Brother Emmanuel Labrise of St. Joseph's Abbey prepares a casket for lining on May 15, 2012 in Covington, Louisiana. Louisiana law forbids those who are not licensed funeral directors from selling caskets. And since Hurricane Katrina leveled the timberlands that once provided the main source of funding for the abbey, the monks have attempted to make a living by building and selling simple cypress caskets. The monks won their first round last year, and have a hearing at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in June. (Photo by Sean Gardner/For the Washington Post)

Louisiana monks fight for the right to sell coffins

Federal court case pits a group of monks against the funeral home industry.

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