What does a brilliant mind actually look like? Neuroscientist and artist Yana Zorina recreates the human brain in thousands of hand-placed beads on plexiglass — built from real anatomical data and published in Consilience Journal. One-of-a-kind. Available now.
“When you learn the art of distillation, you will gain a lifelong skill that will impact every area of your life. Think of a storyteller who captivates you with every word. Their story is well distilled, with unnecessary details stripped away. Think about the last time you were entranced by a drawing or painting. Its... Continue Reading →
Childhood memories I was 9 years old when we moved from Russia to the U.S. I didn't speak English and found solace in watching Russian movies that my parents rented from a store nearby. It seems like it was ages ago, but many quotes from those classic Soviet movies stuck with me till today. One... Continue Reading →
In spring 2017, I got laid off from my first job and spent the summer looking for a new one. While I knew what I wanted to do, I also realized that I had to be open minded in case my "perfect" job didn't exist in New York City yet. Neuroscience companies were hard to... Continue Reading →
“The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.”-William Arthur Ward This quote was put up on a screen at our Chief Scientific Officer's retirement party back in 2017. While the party was very nice and well-intentioned on the surface, in reality it was a forced retirement.... Continue Reading →
“Iron rusts from disuse; stagnant water loses its purity and in cold weather becomes frozen; even so does inaction sap the vigor of the mind.” - Leonardo da Vinci I haven't heard this quote before. By some strange coincidence I accidentally came across it only a few weeks ago, as I was thinking of writing... Continue Reading →
Over the last couple of months, I have fallen off the face of the earth. Again. At least off of the blogosphere anyway. It has been a crazy couple of months for me, to say the least. Work has been stressful and I was in the process of being interviewed for a new job. Not... Continue Reading →
A few years ago, I was fortunate enough to have a chance to display my artwork at the "Art of the Brain" exhibition organized by my former graduate school. There was a reception held on the opening night and there was a big crowd of people. At the time, I was a bit surprised by... Continue Reading →
Finally. Introducing my first completed project of 2021 - “Muted Potential”! While initially I was surprised that it took less than 2 months to complete the beadwork, I then took my sweet time assembling it and taking pictures. Guilty. As you may have read in some of my earlier posts, the cellular pattern is based... Continue Reading →
The Science The human mind is a truly beautiful and elusive concept. Despite considerable progress in neuroscience research, we still cannot quite explain where our mind is and what it looks like. I created the “Brilliant Mind” by taking schematic images of the human brain from the Allen Brain Atlas and portraying them as beaded... Continue Reading →
SciArt that’ll make you feel Smart 