Groundbreaking visuals capture how our bodies repair damaged DNA

The biomedical animator Drew Berry is known for his dazzling visualisations of biological processes that unfold on microscopic scales. As enlightening as it is arresting, his imagery straddles the line between science and art, as seen in his work as the in-house animator for the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI) in Melbourne, Australia, and in his music video collaboration with Björk. This animation illustrates a process called homologous recombination, in which specialised proteins repair damaged DNA by using an intact copy as a template – failures of which can increase one’s risk of cancer. Through this glimpse into the worlds within us, Berry highlights the intricate biology that plays out inside each of us unseen, shaped by millennia of evolution.