Morphogenesis is a collaborative effort between the Mouse Atlas Project at the MRC Human Genetics Unit and the Glasgow School of Art that aims to explore the 3D animation possibilities that are achievable using data obtained with the imaging technique Optical Projection Tomography (OPT).
The
aims of Morphogenesis were threefold:
1) To discern to what degree 3D volumetric data sets (OPT data) could be incorporated into 3D animations
2)
To use the data as the basis of an
informative introduction for a short web-based documentary on the subject of
embryonic development
3)
To use the data as the basis of an abstract animation
Volumes & Surfaces
For manipulation of OPT data in commercial 3D animation packages it is necessary to generate surfaces from the volume data.
ORTHOGONAL VIEWS OF SURFACES OBTAINED FROM OPT DATA SETS, VISUALISED IN MAYA
The
surfaces generated are difficult to animate as a character in commercial 3D
animation packages such as Alias Maya.
The reason for this is that they are not in a conventional ‘bind pose’
with the tail unravelled and pointing straight downwards.
One
method to overcome this problem is to preprocess the entire volume data set
such that it is unravelled to suit the animator’s need*. Below is this principle applied to one of
the OPT data sets.
FROM THE
CONVENTIONAL BIND POSE THIS EMBRYO CAN BE ANIMATED WITH RELATIVE EASE USING
MAYA. CLICK ON THE LINKS TO SEE MOVIES.
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MOVIE 1 |
AVI (1.32 MB) |
MPEG (2.51 MB) |
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MOVIE 2 |
AVI (1.37 MB) |
MPEG (2.61 MB) |
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MOVIE 3 |
AVI (1.32 MB) |
MPEG (2.61 MB) |
*I AM VERY
GRATEFUL TO BOTH CARLOS CORREA AND PROFESSOR DEBORAH SILVER OF RUTGERS UNIVERSITY,
NJ, FOR PREPROCESSING THE OPT DATA ON MY BEHALF.
Genes & Embryos is a short web-based documentary on the subject of
embryonic development. It is aimed at
the informed layman who may wish to know more about the relationship between
genes and animal form.
Click on the links to download movies.
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NOTE: MOVIE FILES CONTAIN BOTH SOUND AND IMAGES. I AM VERY GRATEFUL TO DAVID
BERNARD WHO ALLOWED ME TO USE HIS MUSIC IN THIS PRODUCTION.
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AVI (14.3 MB) |
MPEG (26.8
MB) |
The
study of genes advances our understanding of how we develop from a single cell
into a thoroughly recognisable human being.
Many genes are switched on - or expressed – during embryogenesis
and these genes may ultimately serve to pattern the embryo. In this video clip, Professor Nick Hastie
introduces this topic of genes and development whilst Dr Bob Hill discusses the
impact of mutation to our understanding.
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AVI (22.0 MB) |
MPEG (33.7
MB) |
The
concept of the morphogen is an important one in Developmental Biology. That a diffusible substance – a signal – may
pattern surrounding tissue has its roots in regeneration experiments involving Hydra
from over 100 years ago. In the past 10
years, there has been a lot of interest in a protein – that encoded by the Sonic
Hedgehog gene – which has many hallmarks of a morphogen. In particular, there is interest as to
whether it is responsible for producing the correct sequence of finger or toes
in the developing limb. In this video
clip, Professor Lewis Wolpert and Dr Bob Hill discuss the existence of
morphogens and address the possibility of Sonic Hedgehog actually being the
limb morphogen.
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AVI (22.2 MB) |
MPEG (36.2
MB) |
It
is believed that the limbs of land-based tetrapods (vertebrates with four feet)
evolved from the fins of fish. How this
transition took place is unclear, but may be related to changing patterns of
gene expression. In this video clip, Dr
Bob Hill discusses the evolution of the limb and how an understanding of
Evolutionary and Developmental Genetics (EvoDevo) is increasing our
understanding of how evolutionary change is achieved.
Abstract Animation
CLICK ON THE LINKS TO DOWNLOAD MOVIE: AVI (10.8 MB) MPEG
(27.2 MB)
If
one considers the artwork of Hieronymus Bosch or of Salvador Dali, of Remedios
Varo or of Kay Sage, one may note that the image of either the egg or the
embryo is often used symbolically in art.
Despite the dynamism that may accompany these images, the use of the
embryo as a symbolic archetype overlooks the observed feature that the embryo
is itself a dynamic form, a shapeshifter whose contours change with advancing
development. Each image of an embryo is
itself a snapshot in time, and with advancing development the form of the
embryo itself gradually becomes the form of the infant. Likewise, early stages of embryogenesis are
not necessarily identifiable as embryos, their forms being abstract and in some
instances representational of other animal forms.
It
is widely believed that the forms of the developing embryo have something to do
with genes. The language of development
is that of measured doses of proliferation, death, and migration of the
constituent cells, and the behaviour of these cells is itself dictated by the
sets of genes which are switched on, or expressed therein. This new anatomy of gene expression often
precedes the formation of tissue proper and can be seen as a series of
templates over which tissue organises itself.
In this conceptual model, the complexity of development relates to the
sheer number of genes involved, which is estimated at somewhere between
30,000-40,000 genes in a mammal such as ourselves.
In
the accompanying abstract animation, the author wishes to explore the form of
the mid-stage mouse embryo, incorporating specifically those stages at which it
is most similar to the human embryo.
Representations of this ambiguous creature are created both in utero
and in isolation, and surface renders of gene expression patterns are included
where appropriate. In addition, the
author wishes to recreate in a succession of scenes the OPT scanning procedure,
the method by which the 3D reconstructions are generated. It is the author’s intention that this
succession of shots will visually communicate some of the methods employed by
researchers in the field.
For further information contact: chrisjarmit@hotmail.com
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