by Diane Boudreau

Synchronized Nuclear Divisions, Robert Roberson, 2006

The stereo image shown here, repeated Andy Warhol-style, is actually a set of fungal cell nuclei in the process of dividing. ASU cell biologist/bioimager Robby Roberson produced the image using a laser scanning confocal microscope. The blue and green colors come from a fluorescent dye used in labeling cytoplasmic components. Each of the green lines represents a bundle of microtubules. “The interesting thing about fungi is that many of them exhibit synchronized nuclear divisions. That’s a pretty unusual phenomenon,” says Roberson.

A series of Roberson’s microscopic images were displayed in an art exhibit at Tilt Gallery in Phoenix during the fall of 2006. “I think I always saw microscopy as an art,” explains Roberson. “When I’d go to meetings, I enjoyed presenting the image for the image’s sake as well as for its scientific significance. There was always part of my brain that was an artist.”