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BBC online art gallery  The Science and Art slideshow is one of five slideshows produced specially to give teachers ideas about how to use Your Paintings in the classroom.  Your Paintings brings together paintings owned by public galleries in the UK. As the paintings are in public ownership, ultimately everyone living in the UK owns this vast collection.  As well as containing many portraits of important scientists, Your Paintings can be used as a starting point for pupils to make scientific investigations of their own.

So how do animals play a role in this research? Well, in a couple of ways. First, the chlorotoxin in Tumor Paint was derived from scorpion venom. Second, researchers worked with dogs before moving into human trials to determine the likelihood of success. After promising results in canines, human trials are now underway at Cedars Sinai Medical Center! Right now, the study is aimed at proving that Tumor Paint is able to reach the brain tumor successfully. If all goes well, it's possible that this could lead to more successful surgical outcomes.

neurons painted with different colors

Predators don't control populations of their prey just by killing them. They also paint what is termed a landscape of fear, inhibiting prey from feeding and turning parts of their habitat into no-go zones. Now it appears that this has far-reaching effects throughout the food web.