Martyna Lukoseviciute shares the story behind her octopus embryo image — which has won several international awards — and the unexpected lessons she has learnt from it.

Today I would like to share the multi-layered story behind this beautiful image that I captured, on my birthday, at last summer’s wonderful Embryology Course in the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Massachusetts. This single image grew over the months following the Embryology course to become a symbol of many of my scientific beliefs, values and goals. Luckily, because it has received a lot of attention, I can sneakily use this octopus as a vehicle for three messages that are important to me and hopefully to others within and outside the scientific community: the octopus is my Trojan horse to deliver these thoughts.  Read more…