Suspending disbelief

Issue 20 | Spring/Summer 2007

The award-winning photo was taken using a Kodak DCS Pro 14n, fitted with a 105mm f2.8 Micro Nikkor at f22, long exposure. A Nikon Speedlight SB-800 was used to backlight the setup

This image of a drop of blood floating in thin air captured by a Monash photographer has earned international recognition.

The work of Steven Morton, of Monash University's School of Physics, this photograph won equal first prize in the New Scientist Eureka Prize for Science Photography.

Titled Levitated Drop of Blood, it shows 10 microlitres of blood suspended in an ultrasonic acoustic levitator.

The levitator, a device that directly monitors molecular changes in a range of red blood cell diseases including malaria and sickle cell, was developed at the Monash University Centre for Biospectroscopy.

Scientists combine the levitator with a laser scattering instrument which records a spectrum of the light scattered by the sample from a probe laser.

This setup enables researchers to probe the molecular structure of living cells without interference from any surface and without disturbing the structure of the cells, reducing the risk of contamination.

The levitator is at the heart of a technique called RALS (Raman Acoustic Levitation Spectroscopy) developed by ARC supported researchers, Drs Don McNaughton and Bayden Wood to monitor gas exchange and drug uptake in live red blood cells and the molecular affects of environmental stress in live microalgae.

The photo featured on newspaper websites including The Age and Sydney Morning Herald and on the front cover of prestigious Royal Society of Chemistry journal Lab on a Chip.

The New Scientist Eureka Prize for Science Photography recognises and rewards outstanding science photography. The prize is awarded for a photograph that most effectively communicates an aspect of science.