The most beautiful scientific photo in 2007

The National Science Association of America and Science magazine have awarded awards for photos that best convey complex scientific concepts and information. The awards were announced on September 28.

The impressive image of a seaweed has shown the complexity of the simplest creature in the natural world. The picture of the popular Chondrus crispus red algae in the Atlantic brought Andrea Ottesen at the Department of Landscape Architecture and Plant Science at the University of Maryland, USA, the first prize.

It looks like a strange insect, but the reality is that the CT scan shows the intricate structure inside the human nose. Kai-hung Fung at Pamela Hospital Youde Nethersole in Hong Kong took this picture while examining a thyroid disease in a 33-year-old woman.

Metal pieces tied like a ribbon brought back prizes to students Adam Siegel and George M. Whitesides at Harvard University, USA.

A shot of a 3D motion scene shows how nicotine stimulates nerve impulses to the brain's pleasure center. The photo was taken by Donna DeSmet and Jason Guerrero at Hurd Studios.

Understanding the most basic geometry transformations is also difficult, if you don't have a perspective. This image was taken from a short film by Douglas N. Arnold and Jonathan Rogness at the University of Minnesota, USA. The film shows that some mathematicians can become simple in multi-dimensional space.

MT