“Sunny Side Up” by Andrea Waite is one of the latest finds of the Exhibit Museum of Natural History. With a $750 gift from the South University Merchants Association, the museum was able to purchase three bio-artography images from the Center for Organogenesis. The matted and framed works were offered at the annual South University Street Art Fair. Each year the association donates funds to non-profit organizations for the purchase of art from exhibitors at the fair. The art work depicts a cell stained to identify the structural protein tubulin and Familial Mediterranean Fever protein pyrin. The two other works purchased by the museum were Louise Hecker’s “That Phernominal” depicting red-backed salamander cells synthesizing pheromones, and Nancy Joseph’s “Remember the Seahorse” that shows the organized structure of the hippocampus. The Center for Organogenesis brings together scientists from various fields to study organ formation, function and disease. Their laboratory work involves staining tissues for microscopic examination. Photographs of these structures reflect striking colors and patterns as biological art that is made available to the public. Proceeds support graduate and postgraduate study at the center. (Image courtesy the Center for Organogenesis)
