Most Amazing Science Images of 2010

Science magazine and the National Science Foundation have just announced the winners of the 2010 International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge. The annual international competition is set up to award outstanding artistic efforts to visualize complex scientific concepts. The event also highlights the innovation and technical expertise of scientists who have abilities to visually attract a large number of audiences and encourage them to experience the complex nature as well as beauty of science. The 3-D images of HIV virus, plant-gene map, centipede robot, rough waters, tomato-seed "hair" and so on are some among the best science images of 2010.

3-D portrait of HIV

Using the data from over 100 scientific articles, Ivan Konstantinov and colleagues from the Visual Science Company in Moscow, Russia created this impressive image.

TThe model of HIV - The most detailed 3-D model of the virus ever made.

Centipede Robot

This is a photograph of centipede-inspired robots. These robots are very flexible. They can use body undulations to enhance locomotion and enhance movement.

Centipede-inspired robots are really flexible. They can use body undulations to enhance locomotion and enhance movement.

Plant-Gene Map

AraNet was built from over 50 million experimental observations of the plant and other organisms.

People may think that this is the picture of a fireworks display. However, it is actually a portion of AraNet, a gene map of the plant called Arabidopsis.

"Horror" Virus

This is a 3-D image of an enterobacteria phage T4 virus. Bacteriophages are dangerous viruses that use their sucker-shaped mouths to relentlessly pursue their pray as we saw in B-movie horror style.

Rough Waters

The image was photographed through a microscope. It features the cover of the February 18 edition of Science.

This is not a blue landscape but a rippling surface of a single layer of molecules.

Tomato-Seed "Hair"

The 3-D image of the hairs on the surface of the seed of the common tomato won an honorable mention in the photography category. These hairs contain a mucinous film that can kill predators, prevent the seed from drying out and so on