Category Archives: Anatomy

Anatomy

The Full-Color Voxel Woman: 3D Printing the Complexity of Human Anatomy – 3DPrint.com

Creating anatomical 3D models with cutting edge technology can forever change the way anatomy and medicine are illustrated. At Victoria University of Wellington (Victoria), in New Zealand, students are quickly learning new ways to give life to clinical data. Moving data from the 2D world to a tangible, highly detailed, and precise 3D printed anatomical model could significantly change the clinical field; revamping everything, from medical education to clinical practice.

Focused on bringing her creative designs to life, Ana Morris, a post-graduate student at the School of Design Innovation at Victoria, managed to 3D print a full-color, anatomically accurate, and high fidelity voxel human using the Visible Female dataset and a bitmap-based additive manufacturing workflow.

The result of the work, part of Morris masters thesis, is visually astounding and the woman replicated within this new kind of anatomical model is almost palpable. It was created using serially sectioned cryosection images of a female cadaver produced by researchers working on the National Library of Medicines Visible Human Project (VHP).

Ana Morris (Credit: Victoria University of Wellington)

Using a Stratasys J750 3D printer, Morris was able to replicate in an entirely novel way the body of a woman who, as a result of morbid obesity, died of heart disease. Victorias School of Design Innovation has been working with Stratasys printers since 2004, and this J750 machine used to create lifelike anatomical models with standard or complex pathologies for device testing, surgical training, and patient-specific simulation, provides the color, flexibility, and transparency in 14-micron droplets.

The VHP project realized as a full-color exploratory model (Credit: Ana Morris/Victoria University of Wellington)

Working alongside lecturers Bernard Guy and Ross Stevens of the School of Design Innovation, Morris was granted free access to use the sophisticated Stratasys machine. Just like all her classmates, she was encouraged to learn at the edge and exploit her creative thinking, as Guy described during an interview with 3DPrint.com.

This particular piece is a component of a larger project by Ana [Morris] that works with data that doctors use all the time like MRI and CT scans. It provides an example of how industrial designers at Victoria take data and convert it into a physical object, and also how to advance scientific thinking, serving as a catalyst that can transform research, said Guy.

We have the advantage of talking to anesthesiologists and surgeons all the time, who have recently suggested that this voxel human piece would be a fantastic exemplar as a visual aid for patients, to show them whats inside the body and what can happen during a procedure, without being scary or too scientific.

The full data set from the VHP is now publicly available, allowing Morris the opportunity to volumetrically reconstruct the dataset in a new way. Originally conducted in the 1990s by the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center to obtain serially sectioned images of human cadavers for medical research advancements, the VHP became a common reference point for the study of human anatomy.

Anatomical medical modeling using traditional mesh-based workflows can be time-consuming. Data loss and segmentation artifacts, due to multiple post-processing steps, can cause anatomically inaccurate 3D prints. Morris stated that, when using current segmentation workflows, each mesh (STL file) is restricted to one color and density. However, her study takes advantage of a high-resolution multi-material 3D printer that allows for control over every material droplet (also referred to as a voxel).

Guy and Stevens believe that 3D printing with voxels is a little bit like looking at tiny dust particles in the sun; its that sort of detail that we are working with, tiny little particles. Our big question is now, what do people want to see in a physical object with this level of detail? We dont want to keep printing more superfluous products.

The natomically accurate 3D printed model of the Visible Female, a woman who died of heart disease caused by obesity (Credit: Ana Morris/Victoria University of Wellington)

There are plenty of virtual reconstructions, but I dont think the human anatomy has ever been printed like this before, Morris suggested to 3DPrint.com. Moreover, a model like this highlights the potential of what could come next and will hopefully spark ideas of what could be done. For example, the model could serve as a visual communication tool used in a setting between a doctor and patient, removing all the clinical jargon, helping patients have a more comprehensive understanding of the human body.

Morriss workflow can bypass the conversion steps of traditional segmentation workflows, resulting in the preservation of cadaveric anatomy in its true color. Furthermore, because of the time saved using a bitmap-based 3D printing approach, Morris workflow has the potential to save money when compared to traditional medical modeling workflows. The highly accurate model was produced with gradated color including details at 14-micron resolution which, according to Morris, is impossible to achieve using STL file formats.

The four-step process starts with data acquisition. In this case, the Visible Female dataset, which is then volumetrically reconstructed to create a virtual model. From here, the data is scaled-down and resliced at the printers native printer zresolution. It is finally 3D printed and post-processed.

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The detail that can be seen in the 3D printed Visible Female shown in this research is unprecedented. A total of 5,102 images were processed and sent for printing on the Stratasys J750 to complete the Visible Female 3D print, resulting in 24 individual 3D prints stacked on top of each other to form the full 3D printed Visible Female.

Morris claimed that all the print parts vary in slice thickness, as they wanted to show that bitmap-based printing can produce both thin slices and thick blocks. For demonstration purposes, thick blocks were used to show more detailed areas of anatomy such as the hand and chest regions, and thinner slices were used to show detail through areas such as the thigh.

Model of the Visible Female (Credit: Ana Morris/Victoria University of Wellington)

Guy recalls that unlike anything previously seen in 3D printed anatomical models, this project shows the body of a person in extreme detail. With 3D printing, we see a lot of stereotypical body forms; while here, we are witnessing a person who has grown up, lived their life, and passed away, so it is a very real cadaver, almost as a synthetic cadaver, or synthetic mummification. It shows a very real shape and form, and thats the part of the study we wanted to focus on.

Morris described that when images are deposited sequentially on top of each other using the Stratasys J750 3D printer, it can construct a tangible 3D model. Inspired by Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT) research where a bitmap-based 3D printing workflow allows the ability to engineer different material combinations at a 14-micron resolution by fusing different material droplets. Advantages recorded around bitmap-based 3D printing have acknowledged that in its strength lies its accuracy, limitless manufacturing possibilities, and the production of complex material combinations at a microscale.

Students at Victoria are aiming to mimic anatomy using synthetic materials, described Guy. This is part of their ability to craft and shape voxels with medical data. The challenge that many professors and students at the School of Design Innovation are undertaking is to show another level of detail, gradients, density, color, and heterogeneous material combinations to fulfill growing demand from the medical field.

We are at a time when healthcare professionals are not sure what is achievable, but they also dont know what question to ask and our job is to show them what we can do, suggested Guy.

For Morris, the aim of this project was to explore the bitmap-based 3D printing technique and the capabilities of the Stratasys J750 3D printer.

After this, we could expand into densities and biomechanics, which are more complicated areas, she said.

According to Morris, having control over every 14-micron material droplet means that materials can be engineered to produce models with varying colors and densities, and even more interesting is how this manufacturing workflow could be used for a variety of different medical applications where bioimaging datasets are needed to create tangible anatomical models.

Finding a balance between science, creativity, and art is one of Morriss strong points and what led her to carry out this endeavor, something she described as a way to humanize and democratize information about our anatomy and clinical vocabulary through design. Indeed, her bitmap-based additive manufacturing model has helped to show the Visible Female in an unprecedented way.

Display of sections of the Visible Human (Credit: Ana Morris/Victoria University of Wellington)

After presenting this research at the 3D Technologies in Medicine 2019 Conference in Melbourne last year, Morris and Guy expect that future research will involve looking at medical datasets to print models that are soft and hard altogether. They expect to work on the complexity of 3D color and movement to display the dynamics of the body using the sophisticated and new Stratasys 750 Digital Anatomy Printer (DAP).

Anatomical models today are a weird snapshot in time, so I want models that mimic the complexity of a body in movement, such as tissue movement in breathing. The desire is to get as close as we can to anatomy, by mimicking the reaction of the different parts of the body when it moves, as opposed to static anatomical models that are falsely imitating reality, explained Guy. And now thanks to Anas method, we can move forward, knowing that if we are really sharp, we can make a difference.

Full-color serially sectioned images of the Visible Female (Credit: Ana Morris/Victoria University of Wellington)

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The Full-Color Voxel Woman: 3D Printing the Complexity of Human Anatomy - 3DPrint.com

Anatomy

The Anatomy of a Failing University – CounterPunch

American universities are failing. They are private or public schools. They could be religiously-affiliated or not. They could be in the east, west, north, or south of the United States. They traditionally emphasized liberal arts. They are facing an enrollment and budget crunch for several years, seeing that the declining number of eighteen-year-olds in the coming years poses an existential threat. It has a modest endowment. It is not an elite school. It is a school like the one that many professors teach at. It was failing before Covid-19. It may not be around in five years. With COVID-19, it may be around even less than that.

Years ago, I argued that higher education had afailed business plan, one that planted the seeds of its own destruction. It was a plan following thefailures of K-12. Now the reality of the failed business plan is imminent .

The reasons for failing are many.

For years it relied on the same demographic of white students to recruit, except that demographic is disappearing.

For years it raised tuition at percentages that far outstripped the cost of living and increases in median household incomes, and now many students cannot afford to go to college.

For years it raised tuition to convince people that the more expensive it was the better a school it was. Except the school did not invest the money in academic programs.

For years it played theU.S. News & World Reportcollege rankings game. Except all the other schools played too and all it accomplished was elegant dorms and rising tuition.

For years it spent increasing amounts of money on lavish meals and events to recruit students. Except all the other schools did the same.

For years it encouraged students to borrow, except now with student loan debt at nearly $2 trillion they are tapped out.

For years it chased adult Baby Boomer learners who wanted additional credentials or thought they had a novel in them. But this demographic is gone.

For years it jumped on the bandwagon to create pricey graduate programs such as MBAs to subsidize the liberal arts school. Except this balloon busted.

It adopted a corporate, private-sector orientated model for governance, creating high-salaried vice-presidents for every task or problem it encountered. Except when the financial crunch hit it opted to lay off or reduce faculty and cut back on programs that generated revenue instead of trimming back middle and senior management. It also then hired a new vice-president or a consultant to manage the finances.

When enrollment and retention dipped it hired a new vice-president instead of new recruiters or admissions staff.

It reduced the percentage of tenured or tenure-track faculty and replaced them with part time contingents. Except it found that the latter, no matter how well meaning, do not have the same time to provide all the advising and other services full time faculty do.

It expanded sports programs as a way to attract attention and recruit students. Except few sports programs provide a positive return on investment.

It experimented with on-line degree completion programs. Except it did so at the same time everyone else did across the country and therefore it faced a new group of schools competing for the same students.

It lowered admissions standards to maintain enrollment but could not then figure out why the retention rates went down.

It cut requirements such as foreign languages, music, or the arts to make it easier for students to get in and graduate into jobs. Except in doing so it undermined its mission as a liberal arts institution and the reason why students should go to it and not a community college.

It made it easier for high school students to enter with advanced placement credits. Except it then realized that these students could graduate early and therefore did not pay as much in tuition.

As its competitors added certain programs it duplicated them as opposed to defining what it was good at and focusing on it.

As the job market changed it developed new programs to chase the trends. Except the new trend was always one step ahead of the school.

It jumped on buzz words and slogans such as high impact learning or stackable to sell itself, yet it did little to really change course offerings or programs.

It invested heavily in learning technology letting it drive pedagogy, instead of vice versa.

It talked about the reality of a coming new student demographics, but it did little to change its marketing strategy or services to support them.

Its administrators and university presidents froze faculty salaries or cut their benefits to make money, trustees gave them bonuses for doing that and then wondered why professors were dispirited and disillusioned.

It hired presidents who promised big change but kicked the real tough choices down the road to avoid taking responsibility for what might happen.

It said that we have to be more career-focused like community colleges, except it forgot that an expensive four-year school cannot price compete with a two-year school.

With Covid-19, it is facing an existential threat that has accelerated the problems it has faced for years.

Now the trustees, administrators, and faculty sit around in meetings and wonder why the university is failing. Perhaps they need to hire an expensive consultant to figure it out.

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The Anatomy of a Failing University - CounterPunch

Anatomy

Ema compellingly examines the anatomy of guilt and grief and overturns many concepts of femininity and family – Telegraph India

On a scale of good, bad, ugly, indifferent, there is a lot of content to stream at this time. But none, perhaps, will take you on a journey of such deeply contrasting emotions like Ema does. The 2019 Chilean drama uses both sensitivity and sexuality to craft a compelling tale that examines the anatomy of guilt and grief as seen through the eyes of its eponymous protagonist.

Streaming on MUBI and directed by Pablo Larrain the man behind many highly acclaimed Chilean films on the world stage, some of which have been nominated for Academy Awards Ema is a strange beast. It celebrates life and love and yet destruction, self and otherwise, is at the core of its being. The film, playing out at 102 minutes, is largely an experimental tale (that works and how!) as it shows the unravelling of Ema (a brilliant Mariana Di Girolamo), a dancer troubled beyond measure and a woman all on fire.

Fire, in fact, is the motif that defines Ema. When the film opens, we see her standing in the middle of a deserted city, staring oddly into the distance. The camera then pans to a street signal, billowing smoke and with flames leaping out of it, as Ema makes a dash for it.

There is, of course, more to the tale. Ema and her choreographer partner, Gaston (Gael Garcia Bernal) are coping with rage-filled guilt and mutual recrimination after the troubled child they adopted set fire to the family home. They send the child back to the agency, but instantly start regretting it, perceiving the move as an admission of defeat and selfishness. This not only causes a massive strain in the relationship between Ema and Gaston, but also causes Ema to embark on a self-destructive path, parts of which may seem preposterous, but Larrain using Emas bizarre acts as a series of mini epiphanies makes it seem pretty intriguing, if not always convincing.

Defiance and boldness are at the heart of Ema the film and the person with the narrative adopting a journey that seems both complementary and an antithesis to Marriage Story, the absolutely brilliant Netflix film last year that poignantly and powerfully examined the dynamics of a failed marriage. A masterful exploration of complicated emotions, Ema is a sexually charged mix of camp and chaotic melodrama, with its protagonist turning many concepts related to femininity and family upside down.

Working as a part drama and part a dance film the dance sequences (the film also works as a nod to Reggaeton) are as uplifting as the emotional scenes are heart wrenching Ema defies categorisation, and thats where its major win lies. Emas trajectory through a destructive odyssey of sexual exploration coupled with acts of anarchy and arson (with a flame-thrower thrown in) will take you on a rollercoaster ride, with Larrain his frames awash with pulsating colours at times, and deeply desaturated at others constructing a narrative that is both immersive and invigorating. This is visual storytelling at its best and though Ema may sometimes come off as more style and less substance, the gut-wrenching tale at its core makes sure you never lose sight of the emotions that the film strives to convey.

At the core of the film is an astonishing central act by Mariana Di Girolamo that will ensure that you can hardly tear your eyes away from the screen. The spunky actress makes Ema a force of nature, a sexual being in every pore and yet a woman driven and guided strongly by maternal instincts. The rest of the performances pale in comparison, but Bernal an eternal favourite from the time he captivated us in seminal films like The Motorcycle Diaries, Amores Perros and Y Tu Mama Tambien excels with a deeply felt performance.

Armed with sharp wit and striking cinematography, Ema is essentially a visually rich electro-punk dance fest, but one fraught with emotions that you will find tough to articulate. The best way to watch is to submit unquestioningly to its bizarre, but intoxicating, world.

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Ema compellingly examines the anatomy of guilt and grief and overturns many concepts of femininity and family - Telegraph India

Anatomy

Anatomy of an airborne wilderness river rescue: ‘It took every machine’ – Vertical Magazine

A routine proficiency flight for two Alberta-based rescue pilots on April 28 turned into an eight-hour ordeal involving at least four helicopters when they were called to pluck two men from a swollen Athabasca River.

Located in northeastern Alberta, Fort McMurray is a hub for the regions oil-and-gas industry and an outpost of civilization in an otherwise rugged, remote wilderness. With the onset of spring, river ice on the Athabasca and other waterways in the area is breaking up, causing flooding the likes of which has not been seen in at least half a century.

Its a huge flood. Ive been here since the early 80s and this is the largest flood on record where the river came up over 20 feet in a matter of about a half a day, said Paul Spring, owner of Phoenix HeliFlight and founder of the Local Helicopter Emergency Response Organization (HERO).

It was in those conditions April 28 that an EC135, callsign HERO 1, was flying a routine proficiency mission when a call came from the local fire department asking for help locating aFirst Nations family at a remote cabin on the bank of the Athabasca River. Two men trying to resupply the cabin by four wheeler had been swept away by rising water and lost downriver among the ice floes.

Ken Dueck was at the stick when the call came in about 2 p.m. He and co-pilot Marc McGee abandoned their training run and headed north to search but without a fix on where the lost men might be.

We didnt know how far downstream, but they gave us a rough idea, so we headed that way, Dueck told Vertical. We did our best to locate the individual by cell phone.

They began searching an area north of Fort McKay, which itself is about 58 kilometers (36 miles) north of Fort McMurray. McGee got the victims cell phone number from the fire department and was able to reach him from the cockpit.

However, his cell phone battery was down to three percent, so he gave me a general idea where he was but said he wasnt very familiar with the area, McGee said.

Fortunately, a nearby family member ashore was familiar with local geography and was able to talk the helicopter into the location, about 40 km (25 miles) from the initial guesstimate, McGee said.

From there, we found that party and then I was able to contact the stranded individual again by cell and he was able, once he had visual sight of us, was able to guide us to his location, he said.

It was a daunting spot for the helicopter and crew. Not only were huge chunks of ice flowing downriver, the watercourse was surrounded by 80-foot (25-meter) poplar trees, partially submerged in the flood. To make matters worse, the people needing rescue were wearing camouflage, McGee said. The man was waving a red hat to make himself more visible to the aircraft.

The location was not quite next to the river but in a marsh area that had been flooded out, with very tall poplars, another kind-of creek area that was flooded out as well and he was perched on a log, McGee said. It took us a couple of tries to actually see him in place and then Ken was able to identify him.

McGee dropped a GPS pin on the helicopters Foreflight to mark the location of the rescue because the EC135 was not able to get down to recover the folks in distress. The helicopter also was running low on fuel by this time. Their primary mission of locating the stranded people complete, the crew flew back to the Local Hero Foundation base in Fort McMurray where they could refuel and relay the coordinates to other units that could respond.

Thats when Cameron Spring, Pauls son and a pilot at Phoenix HeliFlight, was called in. The company operates a fleet of single- and twin-engine Airbus helicopters. With just about 400 hours in the cockpit, this was Cameron Springs first real-world rescue.

The younger Spring hopped into an AS350 B2 AStar, flew to downtown Fort McMurray where he picked up two search-and-rescue (SAR) personnel outfitted with immersion suits, and then headed north to the coordinates he received from McGee and Dueck.

It took us a little while to, essentially, find them again because we didnt have good radio communications after the other helicopter left, but we eventually did locate him, Spring said. I hovered down low and looked for a spot where I could let the two SAR guys down . . . but there wasnt anything solid for the helicopter to land on.

Instead of landing near the stranded duo, Spring was able to land and make contact with family members on the shore nearby. The two people were swept away by rising water while trying to drive four-wheelers loaded with supplies to a nearby cabin where the family was planning to ride out the rivers breakup, they learned.

We talked to the family and decided I was going to drop the SAR guys on an ice floe in the channel next to them, Spring said. At this point, I didnt realize there were actually two individuals. One of them was laying in the water, unable to pull himself out onto the ice because he was injured. They were both, again, wearing camo, which was terrible.

While the rescue swimmers crawled and waded over to the two stranded men, the helicopter flew a few miles downstream to the cabin, where there was already a couple of feet of water at the front door to rescue the two women, two children and a pair of dogs.

I was able to land in the front yard with just enough clearance, Spring said. I shut down and was able to load up all four people, their two dogs and some baggage.

The family and their pets were safely transported to the staging area where the various emergency services organizations had parked their trucks and other equipment.

By that time, a Bell 412 Griffon helicopter with a winch was inbound from a practice range near Cold Lake frequented by Canadian and NATO fighter jets. Griffon SAR crews are posted there when the range is active, in the event a jet goes down.

The fire department, knowing this was a water rescue maybe needing a winch, had already requested support from the military, Paul Spring said. The Griffon, because it was on standby for any air crash in the zone, was able to lift off pretty quickly. It was en route, but its at least an hour-and-a-half just to get to town and then another half an hour to get to scene, so theyd be two hours into their fuel by the time they arrived at the subjects that were needing rescue.

Meanwhile, the younger Spring was refueled and flying back to the rescue scene with two immersion-suit-clad fire department personnel on board the AStar. He deposited the pair on another ice chunk near the stranded men and their first round of rescuers.

This time, he set the helicopter down on a large chunk of ice, maintaining about 50 percent power, putting just about 500 pounds on the skids, and waited for the Griffon to arrive. The aircraft also served as a large spinning marker for the inbound 412. Once the military chopper was on scene and started hoisting the victims from the river, Spring returned to the staging area for more fuel.

We knew that the B2, from staying on scene so long, was near the end of its fuel cycle and was still needed, so we determined we should probably take some fuel up, Paul Spring said.

The elder Spring loaded 600 pounds of jet fuel in 10-gallon steel kegs into the squirrel cheek compartments of an EC130 and flew up to refuel the AS350 B2 before taking command of the aviation operation on scene. By this time, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the local fire department, HERO, Phoenix HeliFlight and others were all now involved.

The fish and wildlife officers and police officers, they dont have the radio equipment to interface with the helicopters, he said. Between the B2 and the paramedics and my handheld FM radio, we managed to keep ground to air communications going.

The military Bell 412 was able to hoist one of the stranded victims, in so-called code yellow, from the water and onto the helicopter. His friend was code red, meaning critical condition, but could not be immediately placed into a rescue harness. Needing fuel, the 412 headed to a nearby oil company-owned airport for fuel and to transfer the patient to a ground ambulance before returning for the other patient.

They were having trouble getting the red patient secured for a lift, Paul Spring said. You can imagine, everyone is in the water and cant touch the bottom, so theyre all floating in amongst 80-foot trees . . . bobbing around trying to secure and wrestle a very large gentleman into a harness and then get him in the basket to get him up.

The patient was brought to the staging area where the HERO 1 EC135, which had changed crew, was on standby. What would have been an hour-long drive to Fort McMurray down a gravel logging road took the helicopter 25 minutes. The more seriously injured patient later died at the hospital.

After refueling, the Griffon flew back to the scene to recover the four rescuers still in the water. They were safely returned to the staging area before the party broke up and everyone involved returned to their respective bases.

More than seven hours had elapsed since HERO 1 first received the call at around 2 p.m.

It was a 50-percent success rate on that one, but they would have had zero chance of living if HERO hadnt found them and the B2 hadnt been able to set the swimmers in and get them going into scene, Paul Spring said. It would have been a whole different story. It really took every machine there doing its part, from the Griffon, to the spotter, to the transport and even the fuel chopper.

Original post:
Anatomy of an airborne wilderness river rescue: 'It took every machine' - Vertical Magazine

Anatomy

Zayn Malik Has This Part Of Gigi’s Anatomy Tattooed On His Chest – The Blast

The tattoo that we are talking about is slightly off-center on Zayn Malik's chest, basically laying just where his heart lies. The ex-bandmate of 'One Direction' has never been able to stay away from Gigi for long, and despite them breaking up twice, by the end of 2019 the couple was back again. This time, with a little baby on the way, we are pretty sure they might just end up making a long-lasting go of it, with Zayn staying pretty close to Gigi's mom, Yolanda Habib's farmhouse.

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Zayn Malik Has This Part Of Gigi's Anatomy Tattooed On His Chest - The Blast

Anatomy

X-Men Anatomy: The 5 Weirdest Things About Jean Grey’s Body, Explained – CBR – Comic Book Resources

Mutation in the Marvel Universe can happen in a number of different ways, both physical and psychic, but each mutation is unique and affects the human body quite differently. Colossus's body is able to transform into solid steel and Amelia Vought is able to transform her body into a mist-like form, which are just two extreme examples of some of the strange differences in the X-Men's world.

For mutants like Jean Grey, whose abilities are mental and don't come with a dramatic physical transformation, there are still quite a few unique facts about heranatomy that have intrigued villains like Mister Sinister and cosmic forces like the Phoenix for years,which we'll be taking a closer look at in today's Anatomy of an X-Man.

RELATED: X-Men Anatomy: The 5 Weirdest Things About Cyclops' Body, Explained

While Jean's powers of telepathy and telekinesis had been growing on their own during her time with the X-Men, they were put to the test following a battle with Stephen Lang's Sentinels (and robotic replications of the original five X-Men) that resulted in the X-Men being trapped in spaceduring a severe solar flare. Jean used her abilities to help protect the X-Men and their shuttle as they attempted to return to Earth, though Jean began to succumb to the radiation from the storm and the extreme toll the re-entry into Earth's orbit was taking on her body.

Sensing her determination to help her friends and the potential power hidden within Jean herself, the cosmic Phoenix Force witnessed Jean's sacrifice and chose to grant her wish by saving the X-Men and landing their shuttle on Earth, where they crashed down on Jamaica Bay. As the team gathered after the crash, Jean rose from the water wearing a new costume and exhibiting new powers. She declaredherself the Phoenix.

This was the beginning of the iconic Phoenix Saga, wherein the Phoenix became corrupted into the Dark Phoenixbefore memorably sacrificing herself on the moon inUncanny X-Men#137. However, when a mysterious cocoon found by the Avengers in Jamaica Bay was later investigated by the Fantastic Four, they discovered Jean Grey was inside and the Phoenix had placed her there to heal. Jean was missing some of her memories, but her body was unharmed.

RELATED: X-Men Anatomy: The 5 Weirdest Things About Emma Frost's Body, Explained

Mister Sinister had a dark obsession with Jean Grey, specifically with the potential of the Grey bloodline when mixed with another of Sinister's obsessions, the Summers bloodline. Sinister knew something was different about Jean/Phoenix, so he cloned Jean Grey using her DNA. Later a small piece of the Phoenix Force that survived the Dark Phoenix's sacrifice also bonded with the clone, creatingMadelyne Pryor.

Pryor's abilitieseventually manifested and shebecame a pawn inBelasco's demonic plansas the Goblin Queen, though Jean and the rest of the X-Men were able to stop theInferno from happening. After a pitched psychic battle with Jean Grey, Pryorwas defeated and as she died, the portion of the Phoenix Forceresiding within her returned to the original Jean -- making her whole, giving her access to Madelyne's memories and also increasing her potential power levels.

Her time in Jamaica Baycould be considered a resurrection of its own, but Jean technically didn't die untilNew X-Men #150.Wolverine was forced to stab her to ease her pain after Magneto gave Jean a planet-sized stroke, following her reascension as the Phoenix. Jeanstayed dead for over a decade before she finally returned inPhoenix Resurrection: The Return of Jean Grey.

The Phoenix was again responsible for Jean's return, this timethrough thecreation of a giant Phoenix Egg. However, Jean was tired of the constant cycle with the Phoenix and rejected its power, seeminglysevering her connection with the cosmic entity.

RELATED: X-Men Anatomy: The 5 Weirdest Things About Wolverine's Body, Explained

As recently confirmed by Jonathan Hickman for his Dawn of X relaunch, Jean Grey is officially an Omega-level mutant. Jean is an incredibly powerful telekinetic (and was only able to access those abilities in her earliest days), but her Omega-level ability is telepathy, which makesher one of the most powerful telepaths on the planet. However, her abilities have often been in a state of flux as they were consistently developing or changing during her time with the X-Men.

Following her release from the cocoon in Jamaica Bay, Jean couldn't access her telepathy, yet during the "Revolution" rebrand, Jean was left with only telepathy after apparently switching abilities with Psylocke. When teen Jean from the past was brought to the present day and her powers developed without influences like the Phoenix,she found she was able to transform into anew psionic form by draining the psychic energies of others, which passed on to her older self.

Jean's abilities in the mainstream universe have been greatly affected by the cosmic Phoenix Force, but other versions of Jean Grey have dealt with their incredible potential in different ways. In the Ultimate Universe, whichfeatured a modernizedtake on Marvel's most popular characters, Jean was a powerful mutant whose abilities threatened to consume her at an early age. Charles Xaviercreated psychic blocks to limit Jean's power levels.

These mental blocks were also implemented for Jean in the main Marvel Universe. They have also been used in various recreations of the Dark Phoenix story.

KEEP READING:Avengers Anatomy: 5 Weird Facts About Iron Man's Body, Explained

Boruto: Sasuke's Lone Wolf Attitude Has Truly Doomed Naruto's Konoha Utopia

Entertainment reporter, writer, and all around geek. I like salad but prefer french fries.

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X-Men Anatomy: The 5 Weirdest Things About Jean Grey's Body, Explained - CBR - Comic Book Resources

Anatomy

‘All Day and a Night’ | Anatomy of a Scene – The New York Times

Im Joe Robert Cole, writer/director of All Day and a Night. So in this scene, were following our main character, Jahkor, played by Ashton Sanders, his girlfriend, Shantaye, played by Shakira Janai Paye, and his best friend, TQ, played by Isaiah Johns. The sequence takes place during a distinctly Bay Area gathering called a sideshow. Authenticity was big for me. So I tried to incorporate elements, like the BART train that just passed and local people, as much as possible. The guy on the bike were following is an example. Even the banter and the slang in the background I tried to make specific to Oakland. The film is crafted to root the audience in an intimate way in Jahkors journey. But I wanted to do something a little bit different here. I wanted our three leads here to feel swept up in the whirlwind of people, cars, and culture, and music. So this tracking shot becomes more about how it feels to be at a sideshow than keeping up with them. [OVERLAPPING RAP] I worked out the placement and the camera route with little model cars and people on a schematic in my office. [OVERLAPPING RAP] But I think that the biggest challenge of the scene was figuring out how to safely get our camera between these two moving cars. So as we move into the center coming up here, the car that just passed us ducks out through the crowd. And so we stay focused on this one car here with the ladies in it. And it feels as if the other car is still behind us, when actually, its not there. So at real sideshows, people actually try to hit the cars with their hands when they go by. Where we going to be able to put people that close? The answer to that is no. So we had a lovely VFX house that helped us to place our folks without putting anybody in danger.

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'All Day and a Night' | Anatomy of a Scene - The New York Times

Anatomy

Anatomy of Media Lies About the Death of Kim Jong-un – Consortium News

Ben Norton says we just saw another example of how Washington-backed South Korean outlets conduct information warfare against the government in the north.

ByBen NortonThe Grayzone

There may be no other country on Earth lied about more than North Korea. Western corporate media outlets have absolutely zero editorial standards when reporting on the country.

Absurd lies are routinely treated as newsworthy stories, from the cartoonish claim that Kim Jong-un executed his uncle byfeeding him to a pack of starving dogs(fake news), to the notion that all North Koreans are drones forced to choose fromstate-mandated haircuts(racist-tinged fake news), to the assertion that state media swore it uncovered aunicorn lair(insanely stupid fake news based on amistranslation).

But these lies are not just innocuous errors that come out of nowhere; they are part of an insidious pattern, and a decidedly political one. They are a form of information warfare aimed at destabilizing North Koreas government, known officially as the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK), which has an independent foreign policy and geo-strategic location and just so happens to be sitting ontrillions of dollarsworth of mineral wealth.

Many of these fake news stories originate with Korean opposition groups that are funded to the hilt by the U.S. governmentsNational Endowment for Democracy(NED), a CIA cutout created by the Ronald Reagan administration to push regime change against foreign countries that dont sufficiently kowtow to Washington.

The GrayzoneEditor Max Blumenthal published adocumentary demonstrating how the NED bankrolls a global network of regime-change activists, whose unsubstantiated accusations against the DPRK, China, Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Iran and other nations targeted by the U.S. are spun into unquestionable truths. North Korean defectors are a particularly unreliable source of information, and many of their claims have been proven to be false. They are highly incentivized, however, withoffers of nearly $1 millionto continue cranking out the disinformation.

This April, we saw another textbook example of how NED-backed South Korean outlets notorious for spreading fake news are amplified by the international press corps to the point that their deceptions dominate the news cycle for days.

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For nearly two weeks, dozens of major news networks across the globe provided a megaphone to unsubstantiated rumors that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was dead.

The disinformation campaign kicked off on April 20, when a little-known U.S. government-backed media publication called The Daily NKran a report claiming North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had just undergone heart surgery and was in bad health.

This story was later expanded into a shocking claim: Kim had died, at the young age of 36.

The Daily NKfollowed up with an article stating that avideo confirming that the supreme leader was deadhad been going viral inside North Korea.

These reports unleashed a firestorm. Dozens of media outlets across the globe published story after story claiming Kim was either dead or incapacitated after a botched surgery.

The anatomy of this fake news campaign is dissected below.

And it all began with The Daily NK. But what exactly is this obscure publication?

NED Bankrolls Anti-DPRK Fake News Mill

The Daily NK is a South Korea-based propaganda outlet funded by Washington to conduct information warfare against the government in the north. It was founded by anti-DPRK activists who coalesced around the Network for North Korean Democracy and Human Rights.

This network has received millions of dollars in grants from the National Endowment for Democracy, the CIA cutout.

NED funding for The Daily NK goes backwell over a decade, to when it was founded. A search of theNED grants databaseshows that The Daily NK received $400,000 in U.S. government funding in 2019 alone, and at least $1.2 million in American tax dollars between 2016 and 2019.

Ho Park, the head of North Korean research at Daily NK and one of the publications co-founders, is a grantee who has been publiclyhonored by the NED.

The U.S.-backed Network for North Korean Democracy and Human Rights is also linked to another major grantee called the Unification Media Group, which was given at least$2.4 million from the NEDbetween 2016 and 2019.

The NED notes on its website that the South-Korea basedUnification Media Groupconsists of The Daily NK, Radio Free Chosun and Open North Korea Radio.

In other words, the U.S. government has over the course of several decades carefully cultivated a cadre of anti-DPRK propaganda outlets in Seoul, using them to grease the wheels of a disinformation machine that regularly spreads fake news and rumors from North Korean defectors. This media apparatus is the spearhead of the U.S. governments campaign of hybrid warfare against the DPRK.

Anatomy of a Fake News Campaign

Birthed from the belly of the U.S.-funded disinformation network in Seoul, the global press corps enthusiastically adopted the fake news and delivered it to the Western public.

After the initial Daily NK reports first appeared on April 20, major media outlets inHong Kong and Japanhelped popularize the rumor.

TheNew York Postfollowed with a stunning headline: North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un rumored to be dead. (Like many other outlets, the Post later edited this headline, as it became clear that the story was unconfirmed, but the original headlines of many of these false reports can be seen in their URLs or throughinternet archives.)

The New York Postbased its claims on a report from a Hong Kong broadcast network (later identified as HKSTV Hong Kong Satellite Television), which claimed it had a very solid source that Kim was dead.

The Post also amplified an article in a Japanese magazine insisting the North Korean leader was in a vegetative state. It even claimed that senior Community Party sources in Beijing had confirmed the rumor that Kim died in a botched surgery.

After The New York Postarticle, the fake news spread like wildfire through tabloids fromTMZto TheDaily Express, toMetro,toThe Sun (UK), to TheToronto Sun, to TheIrish Post, and finally,The Mirror.

It was then picked up bynumerouslocalmedianetworksin the United States andother countries.

Next, seemingly respectable media groups fueled the fake news frenzy, including TheNational Interest, TheInternational Business Times,Yahoo News, andForeign Policy.

Neoconservative American politicians pounced on the rumors in predictable fashion. RepublicanLindsey Graham,the most fanatically militaristic member of the Senate since the death of his friend John McCain, told Fox News with an air of confidence, I pretty well believe he [Kim] is dead or incapacitated.

Graham continued, Id be shocked if hes not dead or in some incapacitated state, because you dont let rumors like this go forever or go unanswered in a closed society, which is really a cult, not a country, called North Korea.

Americans gut instincts that the fake news just feels true, after decades of consuming a steady diet of loony regime-change rumors, was taken as proof that it must be true.

On Twitter, the hashtag #KimJongunDead went viral as well, and millions of users swallowed the fake news whole.

Next, a photoshopped picture went viral on social media purporting to show Kim dead in a glass coffin. The image was reported on by Western media outlets likeThe Sun,a tabloid owned by the same right-wing Rupert Murdoch-owned media group that controls The New York Post.

As the fake news spread across the media ecosystem, Western journalists and professional Korea watchers began mulling the possibility that the presumably dead North Korean leaders sister, Kim Yo-jong, was being groomed to replace him.

Without any solid evidence, dozens of outlets ran stories confidently asserting that Yo-jong was preparing to take her brothers place.The Daily Beasteven published a piece purporting to explain why she is so feared in the country.

The Washington Postprinted an op-ed by Jung H. Pak, a former senior analyst at the CIA and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, with the title, Why we shouldnt rule out awoman as North Koreas next leader.

The Guardian,Foreign Policy, theBBC, TheNew Yorker,TIME,Deutsche Welle,The Australian andNewsweekall added to the baseless speculation.

While some of these outlets amplified the phony story while feigning a tone of skepticism, VICE Newsthrew all caution out the window. The hipster arm of the empire published an article trumpeting, A Prominent North Korean Defector is 99% Certain Kim Jong Un Is Dead. Its source was a defector trained and funded by the NED.

Days before, the U.S. government-funded Daily NK had also praised VICE for producing a slick documentary that effectively amounts to fawning PR for the disinformation outlet, in a perfect circle of propaganda.

Another Dead Foreign Bogeyman Shows Up on TV

Then on May 1 the same day VICE News claimed there was a 99 percent chance Kim was dead the house of cards came crumbling down, as DPRK state media published photos of the leader cutting a ribbon at a fertilizer plant.

Now that it is indisputable that the rumors they amplified were totally unfounded, some of the aforementioned news outlets have scrambled to edit their headlines and leads to soften the language, noting there was still confusion at the time. But archived links do not lie.

And the fact of the matter is it was apparent from the beginning, to anyone with a brain, and the capacity to think critically outside of the corporate media bubble, that the rumors should not be trusted.

Actual experts, or even just expats in Korea who tweet in English, could tell from the get-go that this campaign was bogus.

Critics also pointed out that Hyangsan Hospital the hospital where Daily NK said Kim had undergone heart surgery is similar to a community clinic and isnt a facility where operations or surgeries can be performed.

But one didnt need to be a Korea specialist to recognize the pattern of disinformation. Anyone who is even mildly familiar with the practically non-existent standards of media reporting on North Korea knows how these fake news cycles work, and knew not to jump to conclusions.

In a refreshing albeit rare example of cautious skepticism, the media watchdogFairness In Accuracy and Reporting (FAIR)called out corporate media outlets for spreading these rumors without any solid evidence, even before Kim appeared on state TV.

And while impressionable Western journalists were heavily circulating the fake news,South Koreas governmentmade it clear, Kim Jong Un is alive and well. He has been staying in the Wonsan area since April 13. No suspicious movements have so far been detected.

Chinese media outletsalso emphasized from the beginning of the disinformation campaign that it was clearly false. But their insistence was dismissed as Chinese propaganda.

This was not even the first time that rumors went viral claiming Kim Jong-un had died.Back in 2012, a strikingly similar fake-news frenzy erupted when social media posts alleging Kim had passed away were momentarily amplified by mainstream outlets.

The latest paroxysm of propaganda was hardly the only regime-change disinformation campaign blown out of the water in recent weeks. In April, The Grayzone documented the wave of bogus corporate media stories claimingNicaraguan President Daniel Ortega was dead before he, too, appeared on TV very much alive.

Indeed, the deployment of fake news is of a part with a larger strategy of information warfare aimed at nations that refuse to bow to U.S. domination.

From the waves ofdubiously sourcedreports about Chinas supposed concentration camps full of millions ofUighur Muslims, to unhinged warnings of Russias supposed plans tohack the U.S.electrical gridin the dead of winter, to lurid stories of$750 condoms in Venezuela, to breathless presentations ofIranian nuclear weapons files, the program is always the same: lie without shame and shrink away after the deception is revealed for what it is.

Because by then, the damage has already been done.

Ben Norton is a journalist and writer. He is a reporter for The Grayzone, and the producer of theModerate Rebels podcast, which he co-hosts with Max Blumenthal. His website isBenNorton.com, and he tweets at @BenjaminNorton.

This article is from The Grayzone.

The views expressed are solely those of the author and may or may not reflect those ofConsortium News.

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Anatomy of Media Lies About the Death of Kim Jong-un - Consortium News

Anatomy

A Hypochondriac’s Obsession is Amplified in Mesmerizing Anatomical Mandalas Cut From Paper – Colossal

Craft#anatomy#animals#installation#mandala#nature#paper

All images Makerie Studio

For a hypochondriac, any sense of pain or discomfort can be a point of fixation, something specifically known as somatic symptom disorder. This type of obsession inspired paper artist Julie Wilkinson to create a project that would not only distract her from this consuming condition but also bring awareness to an often misunderstood disorder. Her project is aptly titled Manifestation.

Wilkinson told Fubiz that shes been hypochondriac for as long as I can remember, and I have always had a fascination with medicine and the psychology related to certain conditions. This project was a way of visualizing the endless cycle that hypochondriacs often find themselves in, where every feeling is magnified, amplified, and where one little ache can turn into multiple symptomsreal or imaginedwhich take up our thoughts entirely.

These layered illustrations of anatomical parts in a mandala motif were cut by Wilkinson with none other than a scalpel. The result is a visual expression of somatic symptom disordera dizzying array of magnified and multiplied sensations across various interconnected body parts and systems. The mandala is befitting of the meditative and healing nature of the project.

Wilkinson and Joyanne Horscroft make up the transatlantic creative duo behindMakerie Studio. While Wilkinson lives in New York, Horscroft is based in London. Not only are they master paper artists but theyre also set designers, who create imaginative and exquisitely detailed paper sculptures for window displays, events, advertising, and special artistic commissions. Theyve gained the attention of Google, Gucci, Nike, and Victorias Secret, to name a few. Wilkinson and Horscroft have developed their own unique paper techniques and are inspired by nature, steampunk mechanicals, and whimsical worlds.

Follow Makerie Studios magnificent paper creations and installations on Instagram.

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A Hypochondriac's Obsession is Amplified in Mesmerizing Anatomical Mandalas Cut From Paper - Colossal

Anatomy

Attack on Titan Anatomy: 5 Weird Things About the Colossal Titan – CBR – Comic Book Resources

Warning: The following contains spoilers for Attack On Titan.

In Attack on Titan,the shocking revelation of humans being given the power to transform into fearsome titans caused a rift between the characters, with former brothers in arms eventually becoming enemies. The reveals that Annie and Reiner were the Female Titan and Armor Titan, respectively, were somewhat obvious in retrospect. Conversely, there was almost no reason to suspect the connection between the unassuming Bertolt and the Colossal Titan, making his reveal genuinely surprising.

The Colossal Titan appeared at the very beginning of the series, giving viewers a glimpse of its menacing presence as it loomed over the walls. Its subsequent appearances were few, but always managed to create lasting impacts because of its unique abilities. Armin is now the holder of this power after he wassaved by Levi and ate Bertolt. Here are five things to know aboutthe Colossal Titan that make it a devastating force of nature.

As with the other special titan powers, the Colossal Titangets its namefrom its most recognizable feature: its immense size. It towers over pretty much everything at a whopping 60 meters, making it even larger than the Beast Titan. For further height comparison, Eren's Attack Titan only reaches slightly above the Colossal Titan's ankle. It is also the only Titan shown to overshadow the walls.

Though the Colossal Titan is quite intimidating due to its size, the trade-off is in how incredibly slow it moves. The Titan is slow to the point where it allows Survey Corps members to use their vertical maneuvering equipment to latch onto its body easily. Its other abilities make up for its slowness.

RELATED: Attack on Titan: Why Levi Chose Armin Over Erwin

Given how slow the Colossal Titan is, one would assume it is highly susceptible to attacks from enemies. This conclusion is wrong due to how the Titan expelsheat and steam, and uses this ability both offensively and defensively.It can produce pressurized steam strong enough to deflect cables from the Survey Corps' equipment, as well as repel anyone in close proximity. Additionally, the Colossal Titan has the ability to increase the steam's temperature, makingthe air around it so hot that it sears flesh. An example of this is when Armin managed to hook onto the Titan's body and hold his position, but ended up as a burnt corpse.

What's unusual about the Colossal Titan is how it doesn't need to cool down as other Titans are shown to do. Even more intriguing is how Bertolt's human body doesn't sustain any heat damage while using the Titan power.

Whenever any shifters use their power to transform, a surge of energy surrounds them. Eren and Reiner appear to be struck by lightning during their transformations. What differentiates Bertolt from the rest is his control over how much energy is released when turning into the Colossal Titan. This can range from small amounts of energy that simply knock away Survey Corps members with bursts of wind, to large explosions causing massive amounts of damage in its wake similar to a bomb. The latter is seen when Bertolt transforms in Shiganshina, leaving behind destroyed buildings and a small mushroom cloud.

RELATED: Attack On Titan: Eren Yeager is a Bad Protagonist...and That's Great

Speaking of transformations, Bertolt is the only titan shifter who can revert back to his human form almost instantaneously.This is evident when Eren confronted the Colossal Titan only to witness it disappear completely a few moments after. A similarly fascinating ability Bertolt had was partial transformations. This is demonstrated when he and Reiner finally reveal themselves as shifters to the Survey Corps, with only the upper body of the Colossal Titan being fully formed.

As with most of the other special Titans, the Colossal Titan has enhanced strength and regeneration. Only it and the Armored Titan were capable of easily damaging or breaking through the walls, making them two of the strongest Titans. The Colossal Titan was able to destroy most of the upper portions of Wall Rose, and all of its cannons, with one sweeping motion of its arm. It also broke through Wall Maria's south gate with one strike of its foot, damaging all nearby buildings. The Colossal Titan was even capable of halting Eren's Titan transformation by jumping onto him from the top of the wall, albeit in an incomplete form, which left a large crater in the ground.

The Colossal Titan is definitely a force to be reckoned with. It is still unclear whether Armin will inherit these abilities or have to learn them, but he may become unstoppable when he combines the power with his brilliant mind.

KEEP READING: Like Lord of the Rings, Attack On Titan's REAL Heroes are its Most Unsung

Boruto: Sasuke's Lone Wolf Attitude Has Truly Doomed Naruto's Konoha Utopia

Andrew is a Toronto-based freelance writer whose main interests include anime, video games and films.

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Attack on Titan Anatomy: 5 Weird Things About the Colossal Titan - CBR - Comic Book Resources