Matthew J. Paszek, Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Cornell University, studies the glycocalyx: the sugar-rich layer that covers cells.

His group found that in cancer cells the glycocalyx can expand dramatically, changing cell signaling and contributing to more aggressive cancers.

Cornell researchers provided video footage for the piece. I created the animation and edited the footage and rendered sections together so the video could move from research context to cell-scale and nanoscale explanation in one continuous narrative.

The animated sections use a soft, translucent 3D style to make the glycocalyx feel like a physical layer rather than an abstract label, connecting the visible cell surface to the molecular layer above it.