3D renderings of the inner workings of human body

July 9, 2008 11:20 AM

Fascinating 3D renderings of different processes inside of a human body. Yes, the style is quite similar to The Inner Life of The Cell, but this one is different. Dissolving of the pills was definitely entertaining. It would be great if a doctor could comment on the other processes that are displayed.
posted by Surfin' Bird (14 comments total)

I gotta say, that's some nice use of Mogwai in the background.
posted by Tbola at 11:26 AM on July 9, 2008 [1 favorite]

This needs a voice over by Leonard Nimoy.

They have some nice medical illustrations here, although the one of the transparent heart was confusing.
posted by demiurge at 12:09 PM on July 9, 2008

These are amazing, thanks.
posted by sindark at 12:17 PM on July 9, 2008

I would have gone for a Blondie soundtrack.
posted by Stonestock Relentless at 12:46 PM on July 9, 2008 [1 favorite]

Fantastic stuff, thanks.
posted by ceiriog at 12:53 PM on July 9, 2008

I found the glass heart to be strangely erotic if it was all the way to glass, but it goes without saying I am weird.
posted by cjorgensen at 12:55 PM on July 9, 2008

OK i'll give it a shot:
- Some sort of drug traveling through blood vessels to some sort of cancerous neoplasm causing destruction of the neoplasm.
- Lung alveoli. I think that shimmering stuff may be surfactant.
- Proteins binding to a DNA strand (for replication, repair, etc).
- RBCs traveling through a blood vessel. The large fatty-looking expansion is an atherosclerotic plaque. The tiny glowing yellow particles seem represent some sort of drug that shrinks the plaque.
- Unclear what the spiky yellow thing is. Could be a WBC with receptors on it. I don't know why some of them are glowing though.
- The spiky brown thing is probably meant to be some sort of bacteria/foreign/unwanted cell. It is then phagocytosed by another cell (a WBC perhaps). I am unclear why it begins to glow.
- Then we travel through some sort of lumen where there are cilia. One of the cells at the bottom lyses, releasing some green particles.
- Transparent heart with no blood flow. Regular heart. Transparent heart.
- I can't figure out what's going on with these blue and purple particles traveling upwards. some of them stick to something, others don't.
- An HIV virus particle. Its lipid membrane merges with the cells and its genetic material (RNA) gets sent rapidly through the cell's cytoplasm to the nucleus.
- Some sort of silver things are that seem to interact with the cells underneath and destroy them.
- Swallowing of pills. The enteric coating of the pills is dissolved off and the pills release the drug.
- Some sort of particle (complement factor? drug?) that attaches to a cell receptor and seems to prevent another cell from binding to it.
- Cubical representation of DNA?

You can read about most of this stuff on Wikipedia, I'm sure it's there.
posted by ruwan at 12:59 PM on July 9, 2008 [1 favorite]

That was unbelievably gorgeous.

Also, I was shocked just how many of those processes I still recognized from Bio 101.
posted by The Esteemed Doctor Bunsen Honeydew at 1:03 PM on July 9, 2008

If you visit their animation page at http://www.hybridmedicalanimation.com/animation_p1.html then you can find extended clips and explanations of a lot of stuff in the demo reel. Very nice.
posted by adrianhon at 3:16 PM on July 9, 2008 [1 favorite]

If that had been around when 2001: was in theaters we'd have had a commercial winning best picture.

also, who knew that our DNA is made up of old computer monitors??
posted by decaturcomp at 4:48 PM on July 9, 2008

We are machines.

I wish my machine would shed itself some weight. I need to upgrade to titanium parts, I guess.
posted by five fresh fish at 5:39 PM on July 9, 2008

'kin stellar.
posted by marvin at 11:22 PM on July 9, 2008

We are machines.

Or, we are aggregations of billions of tiny living things working together.

Or, I am a super robot made up of little tiny robots!

Either way, it's amazing to see these little internal beasties animated so wetly.
posted by not_on_display at 9:06 AM on July 10, 2008

late to this, but must say - beautiful work. good use of mogwai, i agree.
posted by jcruelty at 10:37 PM on July 14, 2008