Is it possible for scientists to find a cure for diabetes through the eyes of an artist? We think so, and that’s why faculty and students at the Bridge Institute and the USC School of Cinematic Arts are collaboratively exploring the systems of the pancreatic beta cell – the cell responsible for supplying insulin to the body.
Virtual Cell World
Over the past two years teams from the USC Bridge Institute at the Michelson Center for Convergent Biosciences, and the World Building Media Lab at USC Media Arts + Practice Division of Cinematic Arts have created a world inside a single cell, combining the rigor of science with the precision of architecture. In addition to making complex scientific concepts approachable, this post-disciplinary project is facilitating collaborations that advance our understanding of the Pancreatic Beta Cell.
The World in a Cell is a crucial step towards developing a cure for Diabetes.
Immersive Experience
Using narrative systems, storytelling, and world building the project presents cellular biology in an experiential world based on the structure and function of a single cell. This rich biochemical world engages the user in concepts, pathways, and implications through design narrative, all backed by scientific rigor. Within mixed-reality, immersive and interactive environments, the viewer can observe relative scale, relative geo-location, relative activity, and relative function of each constituent, through time and fully immersive space.
For more details about our project, please visit the World in a Cell website.
Interested in working together or have an idea to share?
Bridge Undergraduate Science Program
(BUGS and BUGS Jr. Programs)