"Synaptic Cleft" is a parody of rap group Wu-Tang Clan's "Gravel Pit" about neurotransmission, submitted by Tom McFadden of Stanford University. "I [had] been making similar hip-hop parodies throughout the year," McFadden says. This time inspiration struck during the unit on neuroscience for a Human Biology class for which he was a teacher's assistant. With the help of a few friends, McFadden filmed and edited the music video that educates while it entertains.

Friedmann: Very creative presentation of an academic subject.

Sanford: Had me laughing, dancing, and singing along. Kept my interest until the end.

"Fencing Flamingos" follows the work of Marita Davison, a PhD student in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Cornell University, and her collaborator Jennifer Moslemi as they study flamingos in the rugged High-Andes of Bolivia. The harsh conditions made it challenging to make the video, Davison says, but it's been worth it. "We've had more people see the video than I'll ever have reading a journal article that I write." The video was filmed with a handheld Sony camera by Jamie Herring, another PhD student at Cornell.

Segall: A nice personal view of a scientist.

Kirby: The video provided some spectacular shots of the flamingos' habitat, and it gave a sense of the difficulty in doing this type of ecological research.

"Tree of Life" is a documentary on the evolutionary links between living things, narrated by David Attenborough and submitted by The Wellcome Trust. We "saw an opportunity for something bigger and more beautiful" during celebrations of Darwin's 200th birthday, says Daniel Glaser, head of special projects at the Wellcome Trust and commissioner and executive producer of Tree of Life. The goal was to "illustrate the whole of evolution in quite stylized terms of 3.5 billion years into 5 or 6 minutes," explains Luke Wilmot, the creative director of the movie from Shadow Industries.

Kirby: By far this was the best video of all the submissions. The visuals were beautiful, the narrator served as a storyteller not as a lecturer, and the music complimented the piece.

Sanford: Beautiful graphics! Well-written script conveyed info in a clear, concise, engaging manner.

"Pioneering New Frontiers in Tumor Angiogenesis" is one of 15 videos and seven interactive panels on Amgen's new educational angiogenesis web site, launched in mid-April this year during the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting. The idea for the video "originated from our research and development group," regarding a novel approach to angiogenesis research, says project manager Christine Regan. Amgen then launched a project to create something "that truly looks and feels like something different," she adds. "We're incredibly excited about the end product of this Web site and hope that health care professionals appreciate the cinematic qualities and features that go into these videos."

Segall: Dynamic with clinical relevance.

Sanford: A beautiful tour of the known physiology.