Alya Red: A Real, Virtual Heart (And Other Mentions from the 2012 Visualization Challenge)

Thanks to science, computers, and a team of people at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, we now have a detailed simulation and model of the human heart in all of its sophisticated beauty. Until now, the electrical mechanics of the heart baffled everyone. Alya Red is the first real answer to our questions about the electrical model of the heart. To create such a detailed model they used MRI to find the shape, diffusion tensor imaging to map the nerves and their connections, and a massive supercomputer to throw everything together in a virtual environment. This modern unification of hard science and art won the American Association for the Advancement of Science‘s 2012 Visualization Contest. Other honorable mentions are featured in the ‘read more’ section.