Images of Research 2023

CELEBRATING

Images of Research 2023

10 YEARS

ExeterDoctoral #IoR2023 exeter.ac.uk/imagesofresearch

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Contents A Quest to Measure Reef Growth Amidst the Echoes of Climate Change

Making Space for Water via Nature Based Solutions 2

Didier De Bakker

Art of Science Becky Conners

Behind the Screens of the Digital World

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Milad Latifi

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Bridget Watson

Cloudy Skies of Distant Exoplanets 7 Denis Sergeev

Cute Colleagues Dealing with Policy Complexity

Parasite Art

Anurag Roy

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Hugh Williamson

Fibroblasts: Agents of Discovery 12 Ayodele Ogundero

Light on Prehistory (Paravani Rock Shelter, Southern Georgia) 13 Peter Leeming

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Adrián Oyaneder

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Diatom Algae Nanobiotechnology for Renewable Energy 10 Digital Animal

New Ideas Old Media: Early Christian Evangelisation in the Andes of Northernmost Chile through Rock Art One (Wide) Left Foot

Gloria Crabolu

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Pia Leete

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Milad Latifi

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Phuong Tuyen Nguyen

Navigating the Pancreas

Blue Line between Green and Grey 5

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Thomas O’Shea-Wheller

Meet the Guardian Epithelial and Immune Cells

Alexander R. E. Taylor

Capturing Soil Biodiversity

Alan Puttock

Mapping Emergence 3

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Jo Reeves

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Becky Conners

Patch in Progress

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Alex Gushurst-Moore

Potentially Destructive Signals Stimulating Immune Attack in Type 1 Diabetes

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Christiana Lekka

Virus Nanorods Becky Conners

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‘Images of Research’ is an innovative way for Early Career Researcher staff to highlight the wide range of research that is taking place at the University of Exeter and an opportunity to look at research in a new and exciting way.

There are two main aims of the competition: l To engage the public in academic research, particularly the breadth of research taking place at the University of Exeter. l To provide an opportunity for researchers to communicate often complex research to non-specialists.

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A Quest to Measure Reef Growth Amidst the Echoes of Climate Change Didier De Bakker Acknowledgements to: Professor Chris Perry

This photo captures Professor Chris Perry using our new tool designed by our group to measure vertical reef growth, amidst the backdrop of one of the largest surviving stands of Elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata) in the Caribbean.

This species, once abundant, has nearly vanished due to disease and climate change. The large-scale decline of

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coral jeopardises the capacity of many reefs worldwide to keep pace with rising sea levels. Despite the alarming trend, this image reflects a glimmer of hope found in a small but resilient patch of living coral. It stands as a reminder of the urgent need to understand and protect our endangered marine ecosystems.

Art of Science Becky Conners Acknowledgements to: Pupils of St James School Exeter, Anna Boland, Steve Elcocks.

Photographers: Anna Boland, Steve Elcocks

A selection of microsporidia-inspired artwork by Year 7-11 pupils from St James School in Exeter. Funded by the Wellcome Trust as part of an outreach initiative, pupils took part in a two-day workshop encompassing both science and art. They were introduced to microsporidia parasites (an intriguing group of organisms which are important pathogens of animals, affecting human health and threatening global food security), and different types of research carried out in our laboratories by researchers

from the Living Systems Institute. The scientific images and descriptions were then used in a workshop run by artist Anna Boland where pupils created a diverse range of 2D and 3D pieces. Discussions also took place about careers in science and art, and how these could be combined. Finally, some of the children’s artwork was used in an information leaflet to inform the general public about microsporidia and the research that we do here.

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Behind the Screens of the Digital World Alexander R. E. Taylor

The internet is the world’s largest coal-powered machine.

Online services are often promoted as eco-friendly solutions because they are imagined to be ‘virtual’ process taking place in ‘cyberspace’ or the ‘cloud’. These metaphors problematically erase any sense of the material infrastructure, energy, and human labour that it takes to run the internet and ensure our online services remain constantly available at the click of a button, 24/7. This image shows an aisle of server cabinets in a ‘cloud’ data

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centre located in London. To power and cool their IT equipment, an average data centre consumes an estimated 200-terawatt hours of electricity each year, which is more than the national energy consumption of some countries, often generated from non-renewable energy sources. By drawing attention to the visual and material dimensions of the internet, we can develop alternative ways of engaging with this infrastructure and more meaningfully addressing its associated carbon emissions.

Blue Line between Green and Grey Milad Latifi Acknowledgements to: Ramiz Beig Zali, Jordi Castan Guillen and postgraduate research students from the Centre for Water Systems. Photographer: Mohammad Hajsadeghi

The progression of civilisation, bearing the promise of improving human life, has left its indelible mark on our picturesque planet. Regrettably, this advancement has inadvertently inflicted harm upon our stunning green and blue world, particularly affecting the crucial element that sustains all life. In a candid moment at the University of Exeter, researchers specialising in water systems present an eco-friendly solution aimed at preventing pipe failures

and mitigating water loss. The captured scene, brimming with laughter and joy, encapsulates a moment of epiphany, akin to the exclamation of “Eureka.” In this instance, we find ourselves positioned on the delicate border between the monochrome expanse of urban landscapes and the vibrant hues of verdant surroundings, all in a collective dedication to preserving the lifeblood of our planet – water.

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Capturing Soil Biodiversity Bridget Watson Acknowledgements to: Professor Edze Westra (mentor) The microbes in the soil play a critical role for life on earth by cycling and capturing nutrients which enable plants to grow. Further, carbon capture by soil microbes continues to play an important role in mitigating climate change. However, intensive agriculture and land mismanagement is leading to dramatic declines in soil fertility, reducing our ability to feed a growing population. To make food production more sustainable, we must harness the powers of microbes!

The soil microbiome is complex and there are still a lot of open questions about how it functions. My research uses beneficial soil bacteria from the Azospirillum Genus as a model to understand how bacteria evolve, as well as how they can interact with plants to promote their growth. To study these bacteria, I first need to isolate them from the diverse mix of microbes, including bacteria, fungi and archaea, that make up the soil microbiota. To do this, I use a range of selective and differential growth media, including the type seen here, followed by genetic screening and phenotypic assays.

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Cloudy Skies of Distant Exoplanets Denis Sergeev

How cloudy are the atmospheres of extrasolar planets?

What climate physics are at play there? Which exoplanets can be habitable? To answer these questions, we collaborate with the Met Office and use their state-of-theart 3D climate and weather prediction model. Exoplanetary atmospheres are diverse and behave in a completely unfamiliar way compared to Earth, testing our theories of atmospheric physics. This image shows a model simulation

of the cloudiness (white) and surface temperature (yellow to purple) for a confirmed rocky exoplanet TRAPPIST-1e. In the foreground, you can see different layers of clouds on the planet’s day side, which is constantly illuminated by its host star. In the background, you can see the planet’s night side, a permanently dark hemisphere. This research will help us to answer some of humanity’s fundamental questions: is our planet unique and are we alone in the universe?

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Cute Colleagues Milad Latifi Acknowledgements to: Ramiz Beig Zali

In our research project aimed at assessing the condition of pipes, our objective was to convert human-made pipes into eco-friendly wonders. Working alongside our dedicated team of nature inspectors, we were fortunate to have the delightful presence of our furry companions who reside near the laboratory. These precious friends possess a deep fascination for the project that benefits our planet. To

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ensure their safety and wellbeing, I always insisted that they wear a lab coat. While we couldn’t provide them with their own mini lab coats, they kindly asked us to place one of the pipes outside so they could inspect the sensor connections.

Additionally, they affectionately requested some nutty cookies as a token of appreciation for their efforts, thereby granting us their adorable seal of approval.

Dealing with Policy Complexity Gloria Crabolu Acknowledgements to: Professor Xavier Font, Professor Graham

This is a system map that I developed to trace the impact of a policy instrument used by various local, regional and national government to foster sustainable destination management. The map visualises the hidden

mechanisms created by sustainable tourism indicator schemes to facilitate sustainability improvement in tourism destinations.

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Diatom Algae Nanobiotechnology for Renewable Energy Anurag Roy

Diatoms, a class of algae with intricate hydrated amorphous silica shells, possess unique hierarchical porous structures, optimising interaction with sunlight for electricity generation in diatom algae-based devices. Aligned with biomimicry principles in energy research, our group focuses on utilising diatom-based algae for electricity generation.

We integrate diatom-TiO2 composites into dye-sensitised solar cells (DSSCs), utilising the distinctive triangular porous

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orientations on diatom algae surfaces to form a natural anti-reflective coating. This alternative to traditional silicon solar cells addresses recycling challenges. Diatom algae, with inherent replaceability and sustainable sourcing, offer a promising solution for environmentally conscious solar device disposal. This pioneering exploration highlights diatom nanobiotechnology’s potential for novel, energy-efficient device concepts.

Digital Animal Hugh Williamson Acknowledgements to: Professor Sarah Hartley

A sheep wearing an electronic identification (EID) tag used to monitor individuals as they move through different agricultural spaces. Digital technologies are increasingly used to collect data on farms and throughout the agrifood supply chain. EID numbers don’t just make it easier to automatically identify individual animals in a flock: They also raise the possibility of linking vast amounts of data back to those animals, data collected across and even beyond their lifetime, including from the tracking and

testing of animal-derived products. Social scientists, ethics researchers and journalists have drawn attention to the effects and risks of having our personal data collected and used by others. But what might it mean for a non-human animal to have a digital self? Our research explores how the ‘digital animal’ is emerging in farming, what form it takes, and what implications it has for animals’ wellbeing, humananimal relationships and agricultural systems.

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Fibroblasts: Agents of Discovery Ayodele Ogundero Acknowledgements to: Professor Chris Scotton, Dr Junning Chen and Dr Xinpeng Dun Fibroblasts are cells that play a key role in the formation of connective tissue, and they are involved in wound healing. Fibrosis, on the other hand, is the excessive accumulation of fibrous connective tissue, often because of chronic inflammation or tissue injury.

In conditions like pulmonary fibrosis, fibroblasts contribute to the deposition of scar tissue, impairing organ function.

Understanding the regulation of fibroblast activity is crucial to developing treatments for fibrotic diseases.

The photo above shows mouse lung tissue fibroblasts growing closely together, forming a network of cells in a medium (ie a liquid that provides nutrients and a suitable environment for cell growth) captured using a microscope. At Chris Scotton’s Lab, this is the first phase of my research aimed at understanding the reciprocal feedback between fibroblasts and the extracellular matrix of healthy and diseased lung tissues.

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Light on Prehistory (Paravani Rock Shelter, Southern Georgia) Peter Leeming Acknowledgements to: Professor Emma Loosley Leeming and staff of the education department of the Georgian National Museum

2ND A joint project between the University of Exeter and the Education Department of the Georgian National Museum.

How do you make the remote past more interesting to schoolchildren?

Especially when what they see is a shiny black rock behind glass in a museum?

This photograph shows a piece of black obsidian (volcanic glass) from a prehistoric rock shelter. It was broken off from a larger piece whilst a tool was being made and has a characteristic rippled impact scar. Held to the light it is revealed as transparent with stripes. Not all obsidian is transparent, but the Neolithic inhabitants of Georgia prized such material. Therefore, this is Neolithic rubbish, six thousand years old, seen in the same location that it was discarded with the same light used to check its qualities.

This image was used in our project for teaching and will appear in a guide for school teachers.

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Making Space for Water via Nature Based Solutions

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Alan Puttock

Following the return of beavers to our landscapes, the Making Space for Water programme is working with farmers and other land managers to build a network of nature-rich rivers and wetlands where beavers and other wildlife can flourish throughout South-West England.

These networks will support the recovery of beavers, improve the health of our rivers and wetlands, and provide multiple other benefits for the environment and communities in Devon.

Working with Devon Wildlife Trust, University of Exeter researchers are pioneering the use of mapping, modelling and monitoring to understand the environmental

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impacts of beavers, identifying where supporting beaver reintroduction can deliver the maximum benefits whilst minimising potential problems. This image comes from a drone survey taken to quantify wetland creation and provide evidence allowing landowners to receive support for enabling beaver ecosystem engineering.

Further information:

Mapping Emergence

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Thomas O’Shea-Wheller Acknowledgements to: Dr Catarina Fontoura

Colonies of social insects display complex group behaviours that emerge from simple rules at the individual level.

This phenomenon – known as emergence – is common to many natural systems, but is epitomised by the advanced organisation of insect societies. In a recent collaboration with Dr Catarina Fontoura from Falmouth University, I attempted to explore the emergent behaviour of ants through art. Using sugar solution and non-toxic ink, we encouraged ants to create miniature artworks as they fed.

This allowed us to investigate differences in ink pattern formation within and between species, and thus visualise the unseen facets of their collective behaviour. Taken outside of the ESI at Exeter’s Penryn campus, this photo features Myrmica rubra, a species that produces elegant shadow-like spheres as they feed. The project, entitled ‘Mapping Emergence’, will be exhibited throughout 2024 as part of the Creative Exchange programme, an initiative that seeks to encourage art-science collaborations.

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Meet the Guardian Epithelial and Immune Cells Phuong Tuyen Nguyen Acknowledgements to: Julio Silva, Catrin Cerian Williams, Dr Darren Thomson and many other MRCCMM members

Fungal spores - Aspergillus fumigatus (Af) - are abundant in our environment and are constantly inhaled during breathing. Lung epithelial and immune cells are the first line of host defense to activate spore clearance in healthy people. We have ultilised precision-cut lung slice (PCLS), a 3D tissue slicing approach to understand hostfungal pathogen interactions. This image represents the interaction between lung airway epithelial cells and Af within a murine lung slice obtained by confocal microscopy.

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The fungal spores (cyan colour) were internalised by lung epithelial cells (green). Besides, we also observed immune cells (magenta) took up these spores. The image generally showed that both lung epithelial and immune cells can actively contribute to antifungal activities. My project, using PCLS and advanced microscopy, will enhance our understanding of how epithelial and immune cells activate antifungal defense to protect hosts from fungal disease.

Navigating the Pancreas Pia Leete Acknowledgements to: Conor McMullan, Stephanie Hunter and the IBEx Team

This image represents the power that is offered by being able to microscopically examine the whole of a 2cm x 2cm x 4um slice of human pancreatic tissue for 9 different proteins simultaneously – at both the nano- and millimetre scale. This technology, available at the Research Innovation Learning and Development (RILD) Building, allows us to categorise individual cells, relating each to the other across “long” distances in the pancreas as we strive to understand the pathology of Type 1 diabetes and why this pernicious condition might be affecting individuals so differently.

Emerging technologies allow us to explore our world with ever-increasing intricacy and give us the tools to contextualise the tiniest molecules within the universal whole. As researchers, it can be easy to feel small: I, however, try to maintain a sense of wonder at the privilege that is ours as we journey to the edges of what is known.

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New Ideas Old Media: Early Christian Evangelisation in the Andes of Northernmost Chile through Rock Art Adrián Oyaneder Acknowledgements to: Dr Magdalena García, Dr Ximena Power and Dr Luca Sitzia

The Apostle San Santiago Mataindios (Apostle St James the Indians slayer, left middle and bottom encircled images) was the patron of the Spanish conquistadors and evangelisers in the Americas, having active colonial interests in South America from the 16th to the 19th centuries AD. In response to Spanish colonisation, indigenous populations in the Andes embraced religious syncretism to preserve their customs and beliefs.

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The image shows a rock shelter with red paintings. In pre-Hispanic times, rock art was one of the main artistic expressions for transmitting ideas. However, this rock shelter shows religious syncretism, with images of camelids disturbed by the drawing of a rider with headgear and sword, presumably Saint James. The decorrelation stretch algorithm was applied to the green band of a traditional digital photograph to enhance the visibility of rock paintings.

One (Wide) Left Foot Jo Reeves Acknowledgements to: Dr Sharon Dixon (PI), Roxy Buckley (data collection and analysis), Charlie Male (technical staff), Morgan Sanders (technical staff), Ida Sports team (industry partners) “Widths the most important and difficult to find in tennis shoes.”

Physical activity is important at any age and racket sports like tennis are particularly popular with older adults. Foot width often increases with age, with a lowering of the arch and sometimes toe deformity like bunions.

Many older adults say it’s difficult to find athletic footwear like tennis shoes in an adequate width. Some women even have to buy men’s footwear for the greater width. Tennis shoes can also cause foot pain around the bunion area. As part of the MISFIT project funded by UKRI, we are collecting 3D foot scans of active adult women’s feet of all ages to quantify shape changes of the foot with age. Using the dimensions from these scans we are directly informing footwear design so that manufacturers can make athletic shoes that are more inclusive and help promote physical activity throughout the lifespan.

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Parasite Art Becky Conners Acknowledgements to: Jacky Oliver, Dr Bryony Williams. Photographer: Jim Wileman

This image shows Artist Jacky Oliver putting the finishing touches to her Coil and Spring sculpture in the Living Systems Institute. Funded by the Wellcome Trust as part of a public engagement in science initiative, this sculpture depicts the germination stages of a microsporidia spore, with the aim of provoking discussion about how microsporidia, and other complex cells work. Microsporidia

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parasites are an intriguing group of organisms which are important pathogens of animals, affecting human health and threatening global food security. Researchers in the Living Systems Institute combine a range of imaging and cell biological techniques with mathematical modelling to better understand how microsporidian parasites enter host cells.

Patch in Progress Alex Gushurst-Moore Acknowledgements to: Dr Patricia Zakreski You see a patch of cloth, midtransformation. As part of Patricia Zakreski’s “The Art of Fiction” project, our team are re-examining the position of textile arts, commonly associated with the feminine and often offered a less lofty position in the hierarchy of mediums. To do this, we are employing not only the skills familiar to us as archival researchers, but also learning new methods of embodied research. Together with the artist Ruth Broadway, we are inviting everyone, anywhere to submit patches to a collaboratively-sourced “patchwork object” themed around ‘women’s creative identities’. The patch you see before you is mine, a personal reflection on the creative influence that women, including my family, have had on my creative imagination. In making this piece of art I have been thinking about the boundaries between professional and amateur, training versus improvisation, and conformity and creativity – boundaries that are flimsier than I once thought.

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Potentially Destructive Signals Stimulating Immune Attack in Type 1 Diabetes Christiana Lekka Acknowledgements to: Professor Sarah Richardson

Pancreatic endocrine cells form picturesque island-like clusters scattered across pancreatic tissue, harmoniously collaborating to regulate blood glucose. In the enigma of type 1 diabetes, vital beta cells, essential for this regulatory symphony, face immune attack, leading to their eventual destruction. The underlying cause remains elusive. Illustrated here, endocrine cells emit signals in vivid green and red hues, potentially triggering destructive responses from immune cells. Unravelling the mechanics

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of these signals is paramount. Understanding this puzzle not only demystifies type 1 diabetes but also opens avenues for investigating protective signals. Delving into these intricacies holds promise for slowing the disease’s progression. Deciphering the dialogue between endocrine and immune cells is a captivating journey, offering hope for innovative strategies in managing this complex interplay and fostering advancements in diabetes research.

Virus Nanorods Becky Conners Acknowledgements to: Dr Mat McLaren, Rayén Ignacia León-Quezada, Professor Jasna Rakonjac and Dr Vicki Gold

Viruses infect bacteria too! Researchers at the Living Systems Institute used cryo-electron microscopy to determine the structure of a filamentous bacteriophage – a virus that infects E. coli cells. The full-length virus looks like spaghetti and is difficult to work with, but by creating smaller versions of the virus – so-called nanorods – researchers were able to visualise the complete virus structure for the first time. The image shown here shows the different proteins that make up the virus particle in different

colours with multiple copies of the light blue protein covering the length of the viral DNA, and 5 copies each of the tip proteins shown in yellow, pink, orange and purple. Seeing how the DNA is encapsulated by different proteins enables mechanisms of the viral life-cycle to be proposed. These viruses have many applications in biotechnology and nanotechnology, and knowledge of their three-dimensional structure will aid research in these fields.

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