Two captivating images by Memorial researchers are among 20 finalists for this year’s Science Exposed contest.
One image was submitted by Joshua Taylor, a master’s student; and Dr. Janna M. Andronowski, an assistant professor of clinical anatomy, Division of BioMedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, in a joint entry.
A second image was submitted by Dr. Tyler Eddy, a research scientist in the Centre for Fisheries Ecosystems Research, Marine Institute.
You can see their images below.
1/ The very pores of osteoporosis
Osteoporosis afflicts millions of people across Canada, and treatment and research around it costs billions -- with an aging population poised to expand its impact further. New high-resolution approaches for the visualization and assessment of cortical bone porosity are emerging for both preclinical and clinical assessment of bone quality. Biomedical researchers at Memorial University are exploring changes in the vascular pore and cellular-level organization of human bone with age. This high-resolution 3D render of bone was generated using synchrotron radiation micro-computed tomography at the Canadian Light Source, Canada’s only synchrotron light source facility. This image visualizes the thickness of bone’s vascular pores from small (pink/blue; 1.44 µm) to large (yellow/green; 464 µm), and its cellular density (gold spots). Age-associated increases in porosity and decreases in cellular density may lead to increased bone fragility and decreased bone quality.
2/ La vie en rose
Coral reefs are important for tropical and subtropical coastal communities, for developing small-island states, and for Indigenous peoples because they provide ecosystem services such as food provision, livelihood opportunities, carbon sequestration and protection from storms. My research has derived global estimates of the key ecosystem services coral reefs provide, including catches of coral-reef- associated fish, abundance of coral-reef-associated fish, coral-reef-associated biodiversity and consumption of coral-reef-associated fish by Indigenous peoples. My recent study indicated that the capacity of coral reefs to provide these ecosystem services (that are relied on by millions of people worldwide) has declined by half since the 1950s. To reduce stress on coral reefs and to reduce local impacts, we must work together to achieve climate change emissions targets.
Mr. Taylor is researching the bone remodeling process and factors that impact it such as drug use. As a biological anthropologist and anatomist, Dr. Andronowski’s research focuses on the high-resolution 3D imaging of bone microstructure and the related study of bone adaptation, aging and disease. The bone specimen pictured is from the Andronowski Skeletal Collection for Histological Research, a unique skeletal archive housed in the Faculty of Medicine.
As a research scientist, Dr. Eddy is interested in past, present and future human interactions with, and ecology of, marine ecosystems. His work focuses on ecosystem modelling, climate change, fisheries and underwater research.
Public voting to determine the People’s Choice Award is currently underway. Winners of the Jury Prizes and the People’s Choice Award will be announced in the fall.
Science Exposed, organized by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and l’Acfas, is devoted exclusively to showcasing images of scientific research, in all fields of study.
