Monday, February 1, 2016

Cells and Crystals

Over the weekend I was able to meet with Lauren Galipeau, a research assistant at a biotechnology company. One of the things she does is look at epithelial cells and their growth. I was able to learn about the different kinds of cells and their visual patterns. I specifically was interested in cuboidal epithelium and stratified squamous epithelium. They contain structured chambers that fit together and form what look like veiny passages. These cells' patterns look the same as some of the parts of the body that they make up. For example, they make up blood vessels which include arteries, capillaries, and veins which all result in fractal patterns. It was interesting to see how these fractal patterns can even be found on different scales within the human body.

On a side note, I began to grow some crystals to observe the patterns in how they form. There is nothing visually interesting yet, so stay tuned for images and more information on the process.

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