ucsdhealthsciences:
The awe of similar
Nature is famously conservative. If it does something right, it repeats the plan.
Sometimes, it’s obvious: The fractal patterns of river deltas, human kidneys and trees or the camouflaged stripes of tigers and chameleons.
Sometimes, technology reveals less obvious or unseen similarities. More fanciful, perhaps, but stunning nonetheless. Above are two images: One is a bright-field micrograph of a meadow buttercup floral bud, taken by Stephen S. Nagy, an honorable mention winner in the 2006 Nikon Small World microscopy contest. The other is a multi-photon fluorescence micrograph depicting intestinal villi of a mouse, taken by Thomas Deerinck at the National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research, which took 8th place in Nikon’s 2005 contest.
Which is which? Answer below.
Answer: Flower bud top; intestine below.