Hidden Switches in the Mind
In the last decade, scientists have uncovered an extensive array of molecular mechanisms that allow the environment to alter how genes behave without changing the information they contain. AXS created illustrations depicting how these “epigenetic” changes may contribute to our susceptibility to addiction and depression.
Created for
Scientific American Magazine ( December 2011 )

The Nano Revolution
The Nano Revolution is a three-part television series that explores the future impact of nanotechnology on our society, environment and health. AXS Studio created five science animations along with chapter titles in English and French for "Nano and the Environment", the third episode in the series, which first aired October, 2011.
Created for
The Nature of Things with David Suzuki

Five Feet of Fabulous
Are you treating your colon like the 5 feet of fabulous that it is? AXS Studio created this cheeky animated short to encourage Canadians to have a 'colonversation' about their colon health. Watch the video on YouTube and Facebook and spread the word that colorectal cancer can be stopped in its tracks if caught early!
Created for
Canadian Partnership Against Cancer

Programmed to be Fat
This one-hour documentary special explores a controversial hypothesis suggesting that today’s obesity epidemic may not solely be a matter of an imbalance in “calories in, calories out”. AXS created molecular animation clips to visualize the scientific research suggesting exposure to environmental chemicals during fetal development may be changing our physiology forever. Airs January, 2011.
Created for
Dreamfilm Productions
The Nature of Things with David Suzuki

PATH
Preservative, Transient Hyperfluorescence, or PATH, describes corneal staining by the contact lens preservative PHMB that can appear during eye exams. This animation dispels misinformation about the safety of PHMB by diving into the nanoscopic world of the tear film to demonstrate the science behind PATH — a benign, transient association between fluorocene dye and PHMB molecules. Created for
BioScience Communications
Bausch + Lomb

A Breath of Fresh Air
Cystic fibrosis is a life-threatening genetic disorder. Though the mutation behind the disease was discovered in 1989, a cure has eluded researchers. Recently, insights into how cells regulate their environments have set the stage for new treatment discoveries. AXS visualized how the CFTR membrane channel is a promising new drug discovery target for the treatment of cystic fibrosis.
Created for
Scientific American Magazine ( July 2011 )

Kinematic Facial Animation System
AXS collaborated with Prof Kevin Munhall at Queen's University to create a data-driven facial model to produce realistic facial animations that can be used in controlled audiovisual experiments and to generate models which summarize our knowledge of the speech production process.
Created for
Prof. Kevin Munhall ( Queens University )

FINR Atlas of Brain Injury & Anatomy
This 3D atlas helps clinicians explain brain anatomy and common brain injuries to patients and families. On the iPad and iPhone, the 3D brain responds to finger swipes and pinch-zooms, making it simple for users to begin exploring with minimal instruction. A companion Web version makes this brain atlas available to anyone with an Internet connection.
Links
Florida Institute for Neurologic Rehabilitation, Inc.

Mood Assessment with Animated Characters
Mood Assessment with Animated Characters (MAAC) is an interactive software application that uses animated characters to help psychiatrists evaluate anxiety disorders in children. Developed with Dr Katharina Manassis for the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, MAAC will be freely available to colleagues world-wide.
Created for
The Hospital for Sick Children ( SickKids )

IL-1β Regulation in the Inflammatory Response
Inflammation is the complex biological response of cells and tissues to harmful stimuli. Though inflammation normally triggers healing, chronic inflammation can lead to a host of diseases. At the cellular level, inflammatory processes are activated by a multiprotein molecular machine called the inflammosome. This animation explains the assembly of the inflammosome and its role in diseases such as gout.
Created for
BioScience Communications
Novartis

The HVAD System
HeartWare International is a medical device company developing a family of implantable Left Ventricular Assist Devices (LVADs) for the treatment of advanced heart failure. This animation introduces cardiac surgeons and other stakeholders to the components of the HeartWare System and its key advantages such as its proprietary suspension system (which eliminates wear) and its small size (which allows minimally-invasive implantation).
Created for
HeartWare International

The Orderly Chaos of Proteins
Proteins consist of amino acids linked together like beads on a string. Traditionally, it has been understood that for a protein to function correctly, this amino acid chain has to fold into a precise and rigid configuration. Now, however, a new tangled picture is emerging. AXS
created three illustrations visualizing this novel hypothesis.
Created for
Scientific American Magazine ( April 2011 )

Inside Kidney Stone Disease
Stone disease affects millions of adults. A kidney stone can be as small as the head of a pin, but the pain it can produce can be enormous. This animation explains how and why kidney stones form, major risk factors for development of stone disease and the key to therapy: preventing recurrence.
Created for
Topin and Associates
Mission Pharmacal

In Concert for Health
A healthy metabolism is like a well-tuned orchestra. The body's organs play notes - neurohormones - in perfect harmony to maintain a balance of fat and sugar. In diabetes, this symphony falls out of tune, with potentially devastating cardiovascular consequences. Scored by composer Zach Kellum, this film is an audiovisual call-to-action for a new approach to diabetes prevention and care.
Created for
BioScience Communications
Amylin Pharmaceuticals

Interleukin-17 in Health and Disease
A host of cell-signaling molecules called cytokines and chemokines co-ordinate the body's defenses against pathogens and infection. This animation explores how one such cytokine called interleukin-17 (or IL-17) plays a key role in both normal immune response to pathogens and in immune-mediated diseases.
Created for
BioScience Communications
Novartis

A Journey Through the Human Eye
AXS created this animation to introduce consumers to the structure and function of the eye and to inspire a sense of wonder in something most people take for granted: their eyesight. In the film, we introduce key anatomical structures and important eye functions such as its optical properties, the accommodation reflex, and the tear system. View animation on YouTube.
Created for
BioScience Communications
Bausch + Lomb

Interactive 3D Brain
Genes to Cognition (G2C) Online is a Web-resource for exploring the basis of thinking on many levels — from genes and cells to behavior and environment. AXS created a 3D interactive atlas of the human brain as an embedded resource that supports videos and articles in G2C. The atlas is also avialable as an iOS app.
Created for
Dolan DNA Learning Centre

The Vital Organs
When Esquire Magazine approached us to illustrate
the article “Vital Organs: Brain, Heart and Balls” by
A. J. Jacobs, we put our heads and hearts into the
challenge. Vetted for accuracy by medical experts
Dr. David Perlmutter, Dr. Mehmet Oz, and Dr. Harry
Fish, our renderings reveal what every Esquire Man should know about his vital parts.
Created for
Esquire Magazine ( December 2009 )

Front Line
AXS created high-resolution 3D artwork for a poster campaign for Pfizer. The illustrations are rendered to mimic the look of scanning electron microscopy images and depict the microscopic pathogens behind three infectious diseases: Candida albicans yeast (thrush), Bacillus anthracis bacteria (anthrax), and Aspergillus fumigatus mold (aspergillosis).
Created for
Jeffrey Simbrow Associates
Pfizer

Drug Metabolism Pathways in the Body
As a pharmaceutical substance or drug passes through the body, it is absorbed, distributed and biochemically modified by various organs before being eliminated. This illustration shows one such set of pathways in the metabolism of a typical oral drug. Drug metabolism plays an important role the duration and strength of the pharmacological action of a drug.
Created for
Draftfcb
Boehringer Ingelheim

The Downside of High
There is gathering evidence that marijuana use increases the risk of developing a psychotic illness, especially in the developing brains of young adults. Through interviews and dazzling CGI, this one-hour HD special explores the proposed links between schizophrenia and today's super-potent pot. The Downside of High first aired in January, 2010.
Created for
Dreamfilm Productions
The Nature of Things with David Suzuki

What is Genomics?
This 6-minute animation introduces Grade 9 and 10 students to core concepts that define the study of ‘genomics’. The animation can be viewed as a single movie or as individual chapters and is available for distribution via a Creative Commons license.
Created for
Ontario Genomics Institute ( OGI )
Genome British Columbia

Oxepa
Oxepa is an enteral nutrition product designed for modulating inflammation in critically ill patients such as those suffering from sepsis or ARDS. This animation illustrates possible mechanisms by which Oxepa’s patented blend of fatty acids and antioxidants diminish inflammation of the lungs.
Created for
Abbott Nutrition

Splice
The sci-fi horror feature Splice follows two scientists who defy legal and ethical boundaries to create a new organism. AXS Studio created visuals to serve as props on the film set. While retaining the look of live footage, our animations allowed the filmmakers to direct the cellular actors, something that would not be possible with living cells. View the IMDB trailer.
Created for
Copperheart Entertainment

Oral Calcitonin in Osteoarthritis
In this film, we travel deep inside the intricate microarchitecture of living bone to explore the synergies at work in maintaining healthy joints. The hormone calcitonin is thought to help maintain normal signaling between the cells that regulate bone turnover. This in turn helps maintain cartilage and synovium health, as evidenced through reduced joint space narrowing, pain relief, and joint function.
Created for
BioScience Communications
Emisphere, Novartis, and Nordic Bioscience

Tensional Integrity of Skin
We created this short film for skin biology researchers
to use as a visual aid in presentations within a cosmetics company. This animation explores the core science concepts of skin integrity behind the development
of a novel dermatological product.

Effects of Adenosine in the Kidney
Adenosine is a small molecule that modulates many physiological processes in the body including kidney function. In this illustration, we show how adenosine, binding to its A1 receptor, can act at two different sites in the nephron (the basic structural and functional unit of the kidney) to decrease filtration rate.
Created for
Draftfcb
Merck

Impact of Nanoparticle Size on Cellular Response
A core interest of the Chan Research Group at the University of Toronto is the fabrication of nanomaterials for biological applications. AXS created this visualization of the impact of nanoparticle size on HER2 receptor binding on the surface of breast epithelial cells. This research may open up new possibilities for therapeutic delivery systems.
Created for
Chan Research Group ( University of Toronto )

Nanodots Used in Cancer Imaging, Diagnosis and Therapy
Advances in nanotechnology research have provided a new set of tools for research and clinical applications. Changing the size, shape, and composition of a nanoscale particle allows researchers to alter the materials optical, magnetic or other properties and potentially custom-design materials for a specific
need. AXS created various illustrations of different “nanodots” for the Chan Research Group.
Created for
Chan Research Group ( University of Toronto )

Novel Drug-Device Combination
We created this animation to instruct clinical trial staff in the proper use of a novel drug delivery system. We describe device assembly and operation and demonstrate how its advanced technology
benefits patients.
Created for
RX Media
Bayer

Pharma Sutra: Sex Drugs for the 21st Century
This one hour HD special documents the race to discover and market 'female Viagra'. Through expert opinion and CGI visualizations by AXS Studio, Pharma Sutra explores the latest models of the neurobiology of female desire.
Created for
Cogent-Benger Productions

The Musical Brain
This one-hour HD special looks at the human musical experience and how our brains are hard-wired to create and crave melodies and rhythms. This is your brain on music! The Musical Brain features research findings of leading medical experts, including Dr. Daniel Levitin, and candid interviews with Michael Bublé, Feist, Wyclef Jean and Sting.
Created for
Matter of Fact Media
National Geographic Channel, CTV

ReGenesis
Dr. David Sandström and his team of top scientists at NorBAC investigate questionable advantages in biotechnology. AXS created the series' signature CGI moments that allow the audience to see and think like a scientist.
Created for
Shaftesbury Films

The Clinical Value of SERMs
This animation visualizes the mechanism of action of a group of drugs called SERMs (Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators) for a physician audience. SERMs are indicated for a wide variety of applications including the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. AXS developed a unique 'toon' style to tell this complex
and important story.
Created for
AbelsonTaylor
Eli Lilly

The Four-Winged Dinosaur
AXS created a number of didactic CGI sequences for this one-hour NOVA special that takes us to a famed fossil treasure-trove in China to meet the Microraptor: an ancient four-winged oddity. Produced by MDTV Productions and featuring dinosaur effects by
Hall Train Studios.
Created for
PBS Nova

The Glaucoma Challenge
This Web module promotes awareness of glaucoma risk factors, symptoms and treatment. The module was designed with special consideration to accessibility,
and features: compatibility with screen-reader software (JAWS); colorful, friendly illustrations with moderate medical detail; intuitive navigation and user-choice of type size. Also available in the same series is The AMD Challenge.
Created for
The Canadian National Institute for the Blind ( CNIB )