Small World Speaks

I think art and science are so intricately connected, right?

Now that microscopy is getting so good, you can see so much, and you can add so many colors now.

A lot of scientists are artists too, right? Many microscopists take a lot of photographs. Even people who aren't in science see these images and are like, “Wow.” I think it’s a really great tool for science communication. Because I especially study the gut, which is, most people are like, “ew, gross poop.” Who wants to deal with that, right? It’s kind of taboo, and so I think it’s really helpful to be like, " No, look how beautiful and impressive the gut is.

We all know what it’s like to have a GI disorder, right? Whether you have the flu or nausea. It’s the worst, you know, it takes you out. And yet, we don’t talk about it a lot. We don’t consider our gut health, and it’s kind of been something that is not dinner conversation. It’s not something you should talk about at the table, and I think at least as a GI person to highlight how impressive the gut is and how beautiful it is and how much we need to understand it because it impacts your whole body. All of these systems are connected. It kind of opens that up to a broader audience.

I think COVID really taught us that scientific communication needs to be done better and more accessible to everyone. I think Nikon definitely helps with that through the Small World competitions. Makes you think about things that you wouldn’t otherwise. I mean, I even see things, I’m like, “Oh, wow, I never knew a slime mold was so cool.” I had never thought about imaging like turtle embryos and the different research that happens, and then what that does ultimately.