Users journey to the cell surface membrane and watch 3D and 2D animations about life's building blocks - proteins and DNA - and how the cell is formed
While textbook graphics and illustrations are good tools to teach cellular biology, Albert William of the Indiana University School of Informatics focuses on giving novices a more vivid experience.
That's what led William, a visiting research associate in the school's new media programme at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, to create 'The Cell - A Virtual Tour', a CD-Rom that allows visitors to observe the basic functions and processes critical to cellular life.
"My goal was to present complex scientific concepts and ideas in an interactive environment so that they can be more easily understood by users in ways they might not be able to get from standard textbooks," says William, who teaches digital imaging to undergraduates at IUPUI.
Users journey to the cell surface membrane and watch 3D and 2D animations about life's building blocks - proteins and DNA - and how the cell is formed.
From there, they enter into the cell and observe its myriad structures, tiny organs and processes such as reproduction.
An interface gives users control to access major topic areas and narrations.
William's idea for the programme began several years ago when he was a researcher at the IU School of Medicine where he specialised in protein biochemistry and genetic analysis of brain disease.
He says that experience inspired him to find a better way to communicate biological and scientific concepts not only to professionals but to general audiences.
"Many times the content was accurate but the graphic element was not, or the graphic elements looked nice but lacked content," he says.
"I wanted to find a way to bridge the gap between scientist and artist".
He didn't abandon that notion in later years after earning a master's in new media and going to work for the School of Informatics.
He reasoned the best place to start in bridging the gap was to focus on the human cell.
It took William more than a year to complete The Cell.
It included tedious research, 3D modelling, scripting, narration, music selection, movie production and fine-tuning the overall interactive design of the programme.
"In some ways, I suppose you could consider this an electronic textbook," William now says.
"However, I wanted students to learn about a subject that traditionally has not been very fun".
The Ruth Lilly Health Education Center apparently shares that sentiment.
The centre, which provides health-education programs and interactive displays to more than 90,000 youngsters annually, is working with William to reconfigure some of the animations and content from The Cell for use at its Indianapolis facility.
Sample images and animations of The Cell - A Virtual Tour, and other projects developed by Albert William can be found on IUPUI's website.
