Australian Museum New Scientist Eureka Prize for Science Photography highly commended and finalists announced
Ten stunning images have been selected as highly commended (including three finalists) for the New Scientist Eureka Prize for Science Photography.
The images showcase everything from cicadas to fluid mechanics. They will be published today on the Australian Museum and New Scientist websites, and are also available for publication.
“Science is not just about deep insights and impressive data. It’s also beautiful and inspiring. The photographs entered into the New Scientist Eureka Prize for Science Photography illustrate science in all its beauty and wonder.” Michael Slezak, Australasia Reporter, New Scientist.
The winner of the prize will be announced in the presence of 700 science, government, cultural and media leaders at Sydney Town Hall on Wednesday 4 September 2013.
If you’d like the high-resolution versions of any of the finalists’ images, contact aj@scienceinpublic.com.au or call 03 9398 1416.
The three finalists are:
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Elma Kearney, Sydney NSW, Growth of fungus, Paecilomyces cicadae: This ascomycetous fungus is an endoparasite of underground cicada nymphs. Infection begins when ingested spores germinate and invade the nymph, inhibiting protein synthesis (by cordycepin) and replacing internal organs with mycelia. At maturity, the fungal fruiting bodies (stromata) grow from the killed host and produce white spores. |
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Louisa Windus, Brisbane Qld, Chemokine receptor expression on prostate cancer cells in 3D culture: Utilising immune-cytochemical procedures, chemokine receptor CXCR4 (green fluorescence) expression can be visualised on the membrane of lymph-derived prostate cancer associated tumour cells (LNCaP) grown in a 3D matrix. The nucleus of each cell can be seen (red fluorescence). Over 180 z planes were acquired by confocal microscopy to reconstruct the image. |
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Richard Wylie, Safety Beach Vic, Fatherhood, Fatherhood: The Weedy Seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, is endemic to sub-temperate and temperate Australian waters and is listed by the IUCN as a Near Threatened species. This individual showcases not only the beauty and majesty of these unique creatures but also their biologically diverse methods of reproduction in the marine environment. The female seadragon transfers fertilised eggs to the male, who then incubates them until the fully formed young hatch approximately eight weeks later. |
The highly commended entries are:
- Gary Cranitch, South Brisbane QLD, Green turtle
- Jason Edwards, Collingwood Vic, A tale of two deaths – the poacher and the virus
- Stuart Hirth, Brisbane QLD, Fluid mechanics
- Ian Baguley, Westmead NSW, Emergence
- Helen Lambert, Moonee Beach NSW, Rampant webs
- Dr Michael Lovelace and Professor Tailoi Chan-Ling, Sydney NSW, The dawn of neurodevelopment
- Phred Petersen, Melbourne Vic, Liquid lace
All images are now online here.
The photography finalists are amongst 100 individuals who are finalists for a total of 17 Australian Museum Eureka Prizes worth $170,000.
For media enquiries please contact the Australian Museum Eureka Prizes media team
- Niall Byrne, niall@scienceinpublic.com.au, 0417 131 977
- AJ Epstein, aj@scienceinpublic.com.au, 0433 339 141
The Australian Museum Eureka Prizes are the country’s most comprehensive national science awards, honouring excellence across the four categories of Research and Innovation, Leadership and Commercialisation, Science Communication and Journalism, and School Science.