Stem Cell Network Blog: 35 reasons to like stem cells - images and art/voting open on FB "Cells I See"

Blogger's Note: the FB art/images are fabulous - take a look/vote if you wish

Stem Cell Network Blog: 35 reasons to like stem cells

April 12, 2012

35 reasons to like stem cells

by Lisa Willemse

2010 Cells I See winner: The Beauty of Pluripotency by Kamal Garcha

For the past four years, the Stem Cell Network has held a small image/art contest, known as Cells I See. You may have viewed announcements of the winners in previous blog posts. The contest, by and large, was a quiet affair, known only to a few who weren't part of the Network's annual scientific conference -- where the entries were displayed and conference attendees selected the winner via blind judging.

We were content to keep it this way, until we realized that we were, in essence, hiding some of the most incredible stem cell images we've ever seen. Prompted by interest from the Ontario Science Centre, we installed a small exhibit in their museum and the response was incredible. Most people had no idea what stem cells looked like and were amazed at their beauty and complexity. The overriding message was that people are interested not just in the science of stem cells, but in stem cell images and art.

In response, Cells I See has gone social -- we've opened up the 2012 voting to the world. Anyone with a Facebook profile can participate by "liking" any of the 35 entries in this year's contest. Of course, we invite you to share it with your friends and colleagues as well -- the images are breathtaking, displaying a range of cell types, colours and patterns.
But don't take my word for it, go see them for yourself.

Lilly Oncology On Canvas | 2012 Competition - registration deadline Apr 30th

Lilly Oncology On Canvas | 2012 Competition

• 2012 COMPETITION
• COMPETITION DETAILS
• FAQs
• GETTING STARTED VIDEOS

The 2012 Lilly Oncology On Canvas Art Competition is now underway!

Registration Deadline: April 30, 2012
Submission Deadline: June 29, 2012

If you or someone you care for has heard the words, “You have cancer,” then you know firsthand that a cancer diagnosis can change lives – physically and emotionally.

Fifth Lilly Oncology on Canvas Art Competition Invites All Touched by Cancer to... -- U.S./deadline June 29th

Fifth Lilly Oncology on Canvas Art Competition Invites All Touched by Cancer to... -- INDIANAPOLIS, Feb. 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

INDIANAPOLIS, Feb. 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Get your canvases, paintbrushes and cameras ready -- the subject is cancer and you are the storyteller. Lilly Oncology and the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS) today announced the launch of the 2012 Lilly Oncology On Canvas: Expressions of a Cancer Journey Art Competition and Exhibition. The biennial competition invites individuals from the United States and Puerto Rico, who were diagnosed with any type of cancer -- as well as their families, friends, caregivers and healthcare providers -- to express, through art and narrative, the life-affirming changes that give their cancer journeys meaning. Entries must be postmarked by June 29, 2012. 

Art and Science: Color Explosion A fluorescence microscopy image (ovarian cancer cells/dna) competition straddles the boundary of science and art.

Research assistant at MD Anderson Cancer Center, Geoffrey Grandjean, obtained this image showing human ovarian cancer cells stained for DNA (red) and microtubules (green), during an siRNA screening. The particular gene knockdown in this screen disrupted cell division, causing the giant cell in the middle to grow very large.

The IN Cell Analyzer Image Competition winners 2011

Winning image for Asia PacificLeslie Caron GENEA, Australia

Winning image for the AmericasGeoffrey Grandjean MD Anderson Cancer Center, USA

Winning image for EuropeMarie Neguembor ALEMBIC - San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Italy

Vascular smooth muscle cells differentiated from human embryonic stem cells stained for DNA (blue) and the smooth muscle markers Smoothelin (red) and Caldesmon (green).

Human ovarian cancer cells stained for DNA (red) and microtubules (green).

Myoblast stained for DNA (blue), Myosin heavy chain (green) and methylated Histone H4 (red).

the ART for Cancer group (international)

The Art For Cancer Group: website

1) What’s New:
Current Oncology showcases art, from the ART for Cancer Group

2) Charities:   
Cancer Charities Supported (click)