Researchers from Bournemouth University and the University of Glasgow have won 2016 Lumen Prize Moving Image Award for their project AfterGlow, which shows the transmission of an infectious disease through 3D animation.

Their work forms part of Silent Signal, a collaborative project produced by Animate Projects and funded by the Wellcome Trust, bringing together animation artists and biomedical scientists to create experimental animated artworks.  The resulting artworks are designed to make us think again about science and the human body.

BU animation research lecturers, Paul Smith and Vicky Isley, have been working with Dr Paddy Brock, a Research Associate at the University of Glasgow to explore the transmission of malaria.  Their completed real-time animation shows the spread of the disease through the dancing patterns of mosquitoes at twilight – their prime feeding time.

The animation shows the island terrain lit up by glowing trails of light, mimicking mosquito flight patterns.  These spirals represent blood droplets carried by the mosquitoes, infected with Plasmodium knowlesi, a malaria parasite recently found to jump the species barrier from monkey to human.  The infection left in the wake of Macaque monkeys as they roam the island for food, demonstrates the intricate relationship between disease transmission and its environment.

Together Paul and Vicky form boredomresearch, an artistic collaboration which is renowned for creating artworks that explore extended time frames.

As Vicky explains, “boredeomresearch’s art practice is really inspired by natural and biological processes.  We like to use computer animation to explore the diversity present in nature, exploring behaviours, movements and patterns and why they occur.”

“We were really interested in the unknowns around Dr Brock’s research into mosquitoes and macaques in Malaysia – how little was known about how the macaques move around the island and the mosquitoes populations.  It was these that really fascinated us, because we wanted to explore how you could begin to map and visualise these.”

“We’re thrilled that AfterGlow has won the 2016 Lumen Prize’s Moving Image Award and it was an honour to have this award presented by Tessa Jackson OBE. We would like to thank all at BU, as well as our collaborators at the University of Glasgow, who have supported us with this project which was recognised for its fusion of arts and science. It was a pleasure to act as a beacon highlighting Bournemouth’s unique appreciation of the value of interdisciplinary practice.”

The animation can be viewed here.

Dr Sascha Bachmann, Associate Professor in Law, has been invited to speak at the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s (NATO) School about his research into ‘hybrid war’ and its legal ramifications.  Hybrid war is a concept that has emerged since the Cold War and sums up the complexities of modern warfare, which go beyond conventional military tactics, often involving cyberwarfare, propaganda and a fluid, non-state adversary.

Given the rapidly changing nature of conflict, the importance of research in this area cannot be underestimated as it can help policy makers shape national and international responses to security threats.  For the last few years, Dr Bachmann has been working with military experts at the Swedish Defence University to explore the idea of hybrid war and provide advice to policy makers about how to respond.  He has been working with Professor Håkan Gunneriusson, Head of Research: Ground Tactical and Operational Matters at SEDU, since 2011 on the subject.

“Hybrid war as an idea has become particularly topical since Russia’s activities in Ukraine and the Crimea, as it’s become clear that modern warfare has evolved into something very different, which presents policy makers with a new challenge,” explains Dr Bachmann, “It’s a new concept and one that is changing very quickly.  Hybrid war is something that governments and policy makers need to know how to respond to as conventional military strategies don’t work in the face of it.”

“Underpinning this is a need for a very different type of legal framework to tackle hybrid war, because at present we have very few tools that will help us to respond to it.  Take the internet as an example; it’s very hard to prevent the spread of disinformation and fear-based propaganda, but it’s important that we know how to deal with this in kind as false information can rapidly sway public opinion.”

“The fast moving pace of this area and the need for new information about it means that it’s an area where academic researchers can make a real difference to policy,” says Dr Bachmann, “By working together, we can look at these issues in a new way and come up with an international response and a new legal framework to tackle them.”

Dr Bachmann will be presenting his research as part of a course designed to provide senior personnel with an evaluation of NATO’s current and future security environment.

Further information about Dr Bachmann’s recent research can be found here and a recent submission to the Parliamentary Defence Select Committee can be found here.