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WEHI.TV immune system animation premieres in New York

 

An animation that illustrates how the body fights infection is the sole Australian entry to be accepted for screening at the 3rd Imagine Science Film Festival in New York.

The four-minute animation, created by Walter and Eliza Hall Institute animators Drew Berry and Etsuko Uno, will have its premiere New York screening tonight, the festival’s opening night.

The animation, Fighting Infection by Clonal Selection, was one of 38 films chosen for screening at the festival.

Co-creator Ms Etsuko Uno said Fighting Infection by Clonal Selection was created to commemorate the 50th anniversary of a revolutionary theory by Nobel Laureate Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet, called ‘clonal selection’.

The clonal selection theory explains how the immune system responds to infection and how a type of white blood cell – the lymphocyte – is selected to recognise foreign proteins, specifically those present on microorganisms that invade the body.

“The animation tells the story in microscopic and atomic detail of how the body fights a common bacterial infection, and is narrated using simple yet scientifically accurate language,” Ms Uno said.

“It was designed to raise the understanding of the immune system in the general public and as a teaching resource for university students and scientists.”

The Imagine Science Film Festival showcases films that effectively incorporate science into a compelling narrative while retaining scientific accuracy.

This year’s festival runs from 15-22 October with screenings in Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan.

Drew Berry and Etsuko Uno’s animation studio WEHI.TV develops innovative techniques for visualising scientific discoveries for news and current affairs programs, documentaries, museum installations and education programs.

WEHI.TV animations have received many awards, including an Emmy and a BAFTA, and exhibit globally in museums and art galleries. Exhibition highlights include the Guggenheim (New York), Museum of Modern Art (New York), The Royal Institution of Great Britain (London), the University of Geneva’s Genome Dome (Geneva), and Centre Pompidou (Paris).

WEHI.TV is also recognised by the scientific community for its accurate depiction of biology, with numerous awards including first prize in the National Science Foundation’s ‘Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge’ in 2006 and 2008.

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