Michal Hidas Collection for the Weizmann Institute of Science

A unique collaboration with the Weizmann Institute of Science; images which were produced in the labs of the institute as part of scientific research, were transformed into a beautiful wearable science collection.

Scientific exploration, much like art, is born from reflection – of ourselves and of the world around us. Scientists find inspiration for their research in life experiences – theirs and of others – and by observing natural phenomena and approaching them with curiosity and an open mind. Artists undergo a similar internal process, and some can even draw unexpected inspiration from the beauty of everyday or natural objects. The current revolution in scientific imaging, which includes the development of novel techniques to visualize and analyze scientific data in more accurate ways than ever, had led to a surge in complex scientific images.

Michal Hidas, a young Israeli fashion designer, is used to finding artistic inspiration in unexpected places. In a unique collaboration with the Weizmann Institute of Science, Michal took 10 scientific images, produced in the labs of the Weizmann Institute as part of scientific research, and transformed them into a beautiful wearable science collection. The collection celebrates the beauty and discovery of science, allowing you to take science with you wherever you go, and perhaps inspire others around you.

UV Light

Luminescent result of exposure to UV light of a Thin Layer Chromatographic (TLC) separation plate, containing a separated crude reaction mixture of ruthenium terpyridine complexes. The different compounds that were separated on the plate during the chromatographic process luminesce in different colors.
Courtesy of Dr. Haim Weissman, lab of Prof. Boris Rybtchinski, Department of Organic Chemistry

Molecules

To produce cold molecules for experiments in quantum physics and chemistry, a supersonic plume of gas is generated by expansion from a pulsed valve into a vacuum. A skimmer cone transmits the axial portion of the plume as a collimated beam into the experiment chamber. At high beam densities, reflections from the skimmer lip create shock waves, interfering with the transmitted beam, as revealed in this plasma discharge image. A new technique enables the elimination of these shocks while retaining high beam densities.
Courtesy of Yair Segev, PhD student in the lab of Prof. Ed Narevicius, Department of Chemical and Biological Physics

DNA Brush

A condensed dendritic state contains thousands of end- tethered chains in each pixel in this image, taken using fluorescence microscopy. The pattern is the product of the collapse of fluorescently end-labeled chains by ions called spermidine, which leads to the local bundling of chains and therefore to non-uniform fluorophore distribution in two-dimensional structures.
Courtesy of Dan Bracha, PhD graduate from the lab of Prof. Roy Bar- Ziv, Department of Chemical and Biological Physics

Lung Cells

A triple combination of antibodies against EGFR, HER2 and HER3 – all known receptors involved in the progression of cancer – strongly impairs the survival of malignant lung cells while sparing normal cells. The image is an oil-paint-filtered picture from the confocal microscopy of co-cultures of diseased (green) and healthy (red) lung cells.
Courtesy of Dr. Maicol Mancini, PhD graduate from the lab of Prof. Yossi Yarden, Department of Biological Regulation

The Weizmann Institute has a long history of investigation and discovery rooted in

a mission of advancing science for the benefit of humanity.