'Gee whiz, that's GE!

The screens that surround Times Square in New York City typically blast previews of upcoming network shows, pictures of the newest push up bra, and shiny, sleek "i-objects." But on March 7, 8, and 9, Manhattan's tourists and busy commuters will be treated to something entirely different.On those days, the NBC screen in Times Square will broadcast three 15-minute segments presenting the winners of the second IN Cell Analyzer Image Competition by General Electric.The competition, which began last year, started as a way for GE Healthcare (GE owns NBC) to show potential customers what kinds of images they can produce using the company's IN Cell Analyzer. "Image quality is difficult to quantify," says Cathy Howat, marketing director at GE Healthcare. So the company asked customers to submit their best images using the product, "to let other [potential] customers see the quality for themselves."

The company was pleased by what it received, Howat notes. "We were fairly stunned ourselves about the fantastic images." Last year the contest received 30 entries; this year, the number rose to 84. A scientific panel of three experts (including one non-user of the product) selected a winner: Kymmy Lorrain, of BrainCells Inc., sent in a cascading image of human cortical neural stem cells, stained with TUJ-1 neuronal (green) and GFAP astrocyte markers (red) and DNA (blue). Her research focuses on depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.The company also solicited the public to choose their favorite image, and approximately 1500 people voted, selecting Carmen Laethem, of Aerie Pharmaceuticals, who studies ocular diseases. She submitted an image of primary pig trabecular meshwork cells stained red, blue, and green.

GE Healthcare chose to broadcast the images to the public as a way to reach out to people who may feel disconnected from science, Howat says. It should also help the scientists, she added -- broadcasting the winning images (plus 20 or so of the best entries) gives the winners a "novel way of being able to publish their work in a public way."The images are scheduled to appear at 7 PM on Friday, March 7 and Saturday, March 8 -- when dusk will accentuate the fluorescent markers -- and earlier on Sunday. Winners get a trip to New York City for that weekend, for a first-hand look at their images broadcast larger than life.The company "absolutely" plans to hold the contest next year, Howat says. "We're constantly amazed at the images and the quality," she says.Alison McCook mail@the-scientist.comLinks within this article: IN Cell Analyzer Image Competition http://www6.gelifesciences.com/aptrix/upp01077.nsf/content/incell_competition2007