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<\/div>The winning entry, \u201cCalcium rainbow\u201d<\/p>\n
Charlotte Buckley, University of Strathclyde, British Heart Foundation \u2013 Reflections of Research<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n
The muscle cells lining an artery resemble a stained glass window in this image, the winner of the British Heart Foundation\u2019s annual Reflections of Research competition. Scientists funded by the charity submitted the most striking pictures from their work on heart and circulatory conditions.<\/p>\n
Charlotte Buckley<\/a> at the University of Strathclyde, UK, who scooped first prize, is exploring how cells in artery walls respond to calcium levels and how this leads to high blood pressure, stroke and dementia. A fluorescent dye shows calcium levels at different times in a recording: blue shows this mineral released from stores inside cells at the start, while later emissions run through purple, pink, red, orange, yellow and then white.<\/p>\n \u201cThe powerhouse of life\u201d<\/p>\n Agustina Salis Torres, University of Edinburgh, British Heart Foundation \u2013 Reflections of Research<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n Another image, a shortlisted entry by Agustina Salis Torres<\/a> at the University of Edinburgh, UK, also shows muscle cells that line blood vessels. The nuclei, which contain genetic material, are shown in blue, and calcium is labelled in green. Mitochondria, the energy-generating parts of the cells, are stained yellow and orange.<\/p>\n \u201cIgniting a new wave of AF research\u201d<\/p>\n Aaron Johnston, University of Oxford, British Heart Foundation \u2013 Reflections of Research<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The image above shows a cell collected from the heart of a person with an irregular heartbeat due to a condition called atrial fibrillation (AF). The glowing strands of orange and yellow highlight a protein called filamin-A that helps cells respond to each other, and which becomes altered in the condition. The blue oval shows the nucleus of the cell. Aaron Johnston<\/a> at the University of Oxford, who captured the image, hopes that understanding how cells change during AF could lead to new treatments.<\/p>\n \u201cBlooming development\u201d<\/p>\n Victoria Rashbrook, University of Oxford, British Heart Foundation \u2013 Reflections of Research<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n Victoria Rashbrook<\/a> at the University of Oxford, who is studying how pregnancy and infant health affects heart development, took this image of a developing mouse embryo halfway through pregnancy. Resembling a tulip in bloom, the pink \u201cpetals\u201d develop into the head, the green \u201cstem\u201d expands to form the body and the green \u201croots\u201d depict the placenta.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Heartbeat of Tooth! Bridging Oral and Cardio Health\u201d<\/p>\n Susanth Alapati, University of Aberdeen, British Heart Foundation \u2013 Reflections of Research<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/05122758\/SEI_227978527.jpg\")
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