據(jù)hosted.ap.org網站2006年10月14日報道,。美國佛羅里達州首府塔拉哈西的生物化學家米歇爾.戴維森已經使用他的顯微鏡對猴子的DNA進行了20多年的觀察,，通過顯微鏡,，他不僅僅看到了科學的形態(tài)和功能，還看到了“藝術”,。
通過顯微鏡,，戴維森開始拍攝從維生素到啤酒的結晶體照片,。他的照片已經被用于設計日歷,、海報,、賀卡,、女性休閑運動裝和領帶,，其中最賺錢的是領帶設計。戴維森是美國佛羅里達州立大學國家高能磁場試驗室光學顯微鏡分部的領導人,，他利用“分子表達法”設計的領帶在90年代取得了極大成功,。戴維森、領帶公司,、慈善團體和國家高能磁場試驗室因此掙到了數(shù)百萬美元,。國家高能磁場試驗室為顯微鏡研究提供了150萬美元的資金作為種子基金，從而使得該研究能夠繼續(xù)促進科學與藝術的結合,。戴維森是顯微鏡藝術家團隊中最成功的人士之一,，該團隊目前規(guī)模還較小，但正在不斷壯大之中,。
生產這種領帶的巨石公司前任副主席歐文.斯頓伯格說：“我至今仍能記得當年我說過的話,，我說過沒有一名藝術家或一名能工巧匠能夠創(chuàng)造出比這更美麗設計。”夏威夷卡魯瓦的微生物學家丹尼.康克爾稱：“無論是作為商業(yè)產品還是廣告設計,，這些藝術圖像都將在世界上廣為傳播,。”四年前,，丹尼.康克爾離開夏威夷大學，集中精力從事顯微鏡照片的生產和銷售,。從T恤衫設計到教科書設計,，他的照片都得到了廣泛地運用。
顯微鏡觀測者把從顯微鏡里觀察到的事物稱為“微觀世界”,。上世紀80年代,，當戴維森還是亞特蘭大州約克斯靈長動物中心的一名研究人員時，他就對“微型世界”里隱藏的藝術潛力著了迷,。但在剛開始的時候,，由于技術問題，他不能把顯微鏡里觀察到的景象拍攝下來,。戴維森說：“當時沒有色彩鮮明的照片,，只有我們看到那奇特藝術效果時發(fā)出的驚嘆”為了拍攝到彩色照片，戴維森建造了自己的暗房,，并于80年代中期為《自然》雜志拍攝到一張液體結晶體彩色DNA照片,。他說：“最大的挑戰(zhàn)是制作好標本，這也是大多數(shù)顯微鏡觀測者最為頭痛的一件事情,。”
戴維森的早期工作是在佛羅里達州立大學化學系從事聚合結晶體的物理研究,，從那里他得到了一個切片。戴維森說：“我知道怎樣把不能結晶的東西晶體化,。為了在偏振的光線中拍攝到這些彩色照片,，我們不得不在標本中得到某種秩序，最好的辦法是把標本結晶化,。”他開始在試驗室周圍尋找能夠使標本結晶的化學藥品,，比如維生素、氨基酸,、蛋白質和鹽,。與此同時，他也在出售他的照片,，這些照片出現(xiàn)在日歷,、賀卡和女性休閑運動裝上。在他與歐文.斯頓伯格的巨石公司合作之前,，這些照片并未引起足夠的重視,。巨石公司是紐約的一家領帶公司。第一條“分子表達法”設計的領帶于1993年問世,，這是以維生素顯微鏡照片為基礎設計的領帶,。他們取得了比較成功的業(yè)績。巨石公司要求得到啤酒和其它酒精飲料的顯微鏡照片。戴維森回憶道：“我認為這真是異想天開,。”但他還是進行了嘗試并開始盈利,。
斯頓伯格還說服母親們反對酒后駕車并認可收集雞尾酒的活動，其條件是與她們共享收益,。這些在市場上銷售的雞尾酒是造成酒后駕車的罪魁禍首,。但在啤酒和其它飲料方面有了新的問題。“基本上,，你在顯微鏡下看不到什么東西,。”戴維森稱，“一個月的前三周都是失敗,，我?guī)缀鯗蕚浞艞壛恕?rdquo;啤酒的確含有糖分,。戴維森將啤酒進行蒸發(fā)，直到糖分開始結晶,。然后,，他將一些樣本進行冷凍，一些樣本噴上硅,，從而顯示出各種式樣,，每一個式樣都有上百個品種。戴維森稱,，“我會取出不到一升的啤酒,。”他個人比較喜歡輕淡啤酒，“我只需要一兩杯,，它們聞起來很糟糕,，我把大部分都倒進了下水道。”他們把本&吉里牌（Ben & Jerry's ）冰激凌和從芝加哥收集到食品運給戴維森和他的助手們,，后者包括美味的深碟比薩,。比薩被干冰冷凍后運到塔拉哈西，在那里,，戴維森和他的助手們一起烤著吃,。他稱，“顯微鏡有一個優(yōu)點,，就是它只需要很小的數(shù)量進行觀察。所以,，像干酥這樣的東西,，只需要一個很小的切片就夠了。”他們把剩下的全吃了,。
除了從自然界發(fā)現(xiàn)藝術圖象外,，戴維森還通過肉眼從微小的電腦芯片的布線發(fā)現(xiàn)了人為藝術。他開始拍攝一些集成電路，因為他覺得它們在顯微鏡下模式下非常具有藝術美感,。戴維森稱,，“一天，我碰巧掃這片涂鴉之地,。當我將顯微鏡調整到更高倍數(shù)進行觀察時,，我發(fā)現(xiàn)它看起來像兒童書籍‘沃爾多’角色”。“就在第二天,，我在同一個芯片里又發(fā)現(xiàn)了‘達菲鴨’”,，他稱，“我當時非常驚訝,。”他又搜集了一些芯片,，并于1998年在網上發(fā)表了十二篇“涂鴉”之作。只有在那時,，他才從芯片設計師那里發(fā)現(xiàn)這些涂鴉正是他們花費長達幾年時間開發(fā)既有趣又擬人化的循環(huán)電路,。他們給他發(fā)來了約300多個樣本，包括其它一些動漫圖片,、地圖,、標記甚至還有牌照。這些芯片圖像卻組成了戴維森分子世界網站（http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu,）的一個名為“半導體硅晶動物園”的圖展區(qū)域,。
戴維森及其助手們最近開發(fā)的這項領先技術,，將推動一種新型顯微鏡的誕生，該顯微鏡將具備觀察蛋白質分子的能力,。它將幫助生物學家解開活細胞深層的秘密,。戴維森稱，“我不僅是從科學的角度來觀察事物,，但也會試著從我所做的每件事里發(fā)現(xiàn)藝術”,。
英文原文：
Scientist Sees Art Through a Microscope
As biochemist Michael Davidson peered at monkey DNA through his microscope more than two decades ago he saw more than scientific form and function. He saw art.
Davidson eventually began taking pictures of crystallized substances ranging from vitamins to beer as seen through a microscope. His images have been used for calendars, posters, greeting cards and women's sportswear but most profitably on neckties.
The "Molecular Expressions" ties were such a hit in the 1990s they earned millions for Davidson, the tie company, a charity and Florida State University's National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, where he heads the Optical Microscopy Division. The lab's $1.5 million share provided seed money for microscopy research that continues to advance science - and art.
"I can still remember today saying that I couldn't hire and couldn't get an artist or someone who was a designer to create more beautiful designs," recalled Irwin Sternberg, former president of Stonehenge Ltd., which made the ties.
Davidson is one of the most successful of a small but growing band of microscope artists.
"These images are going to be out there more in the world, whether they be used in commercial products or advertising," said Dennis Kunkel, a microbiologist in Kailua, Hawaii. He left the University of Hawaii's faculty four years ago to focus on making and selling electron microscope photos for everything from T-shirts to textbooks.
Davidson's fascination with the artistic potential of what microscopers call "the small world" began in the 1980s as a researcher at the Yerkes Primate Center in Atlanta. At first, he was unable to replicate on film what he saw through the microscope because of a technical problem.
"It didn't have the vibrant colors and just the 'wow' type of effect," Davidson said.
He built his own darkroom and in the mid-1980s produced a cover photo of liquid crystalline DNA for the journal Nature.
"The biggest challenge is preparing good specimens," he said. "And that's where most microscopers fall short."
Davidson gained an edge from his previous day job studying the physics of polymer crystallization in Florida State's chemistry department.
"I learned how to crystallize things that don't want to crystallize," Davidson said. "To take these colorful images in polarized light we have to get some sort of order into the specimen. The best thing to do is to crystallize it."
He started looking around the lab for chemicals he could crystallize - vitamins, amino acids, proteins, salts.
In the meantime, he was selling his pictures, which appeared on calendars and greeting cards and women's sportswear.
None of those products hit it big until he stumbled on Sternberg's Stonehenge, a necktie company in New York City.
The first Molecular Expressions ties in 1993 were based on microscopic images of vitamins. They were moderately successful. Then Sternberg asked for microscopic pictures of beer and other alcoholic beverages.
"I thought he was nuts," Davidson recalled, but he gave it a try and it paid off.
Sternberg also persuaded Mothers Against Drunk Driving to endorse the Cocktail Collection in exchange for a share of the proceeds. They were marketed as being the only way motorists should "tie one on" before driving.
But beer and other liquids presented a new problem.
"You basically can't see anything in the microscope," Davidson said. "The first three weeks to a month was just wrought with failure. I was almost ready to give up."
One thing that beer does have, though, is a lot of sugar. Davidson evaporated the beer to the point the sugar began crystallizing. Then he froze some samples and sprayed others on silicon to bring out different patterns for each of more than 100 brands.
"I would take less than a milliliter of the beer out," said Davidson, who says he prefers light beer. "I tasted a couple of them. They tasted nasty and I dumped most of it down the drain."
Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream and Chicago collections, the latter including deep-dish pizza, proved more palatable. The pizza was shipped frozen in dry ice to Tallahassee, where Davidson and his assistants baked it.
"The nice thing about the microscope, it takes only a small quantity so we only needed a little, bitty tiny snip of cheese," he said. They ate the rest.
Besides creating artistic images from nature, Davidson discovered manmade art hidden from the naked eye deep in the recesses of tiny computer chips. He had begun photographing integrated circuits because he thought their microscopic patterns were artistic.
"One day I happened across this doodle," Davidson said. "As I swung into a higher magnification I noticed it looked like Waldo," the character in children's books.
"The very next day I discovered Daffy Duck on the same chip," he said. "I said, 'This is very strange.'"
He searched other chips and found about a dozen doodles he posted on the Internet in 1998. Only then did he find out from chip designers that the graffiti was just a way to have fun and personalize circuitry they had spent months or years developing.
They sent him about 300 more examples, including other cartoon characters, maps, flags and even license plates. The chip graffiti makes up the Silicon Zoo section of Davidson's Molecular Expressions Web site, http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu . It also includes the beer images and other microscopic art and science.
A technique Davidson and his staff helped pioneer recently led to the development of a new microscope capable of looking at proteins on a molecular level. It is expected to help biologists unlock secrets hidden in living cells.
"I look at things more from a scientific perspective," Davidson said. "But I also try to see the art in just about everything I do."
