Cryptogram Challenge: ELISA Redux

Year Created: 2009

Elisa Redux depicts the highly colorful readout of an ELISA assay plate that measures the presence and quantity of specific molecules in tissue fluids. Often used to determine the concentration of known proteins, the ELISA plate is a sensitive decoder of the workings of the body at the molecular level. To this extent, an ELISA plate is an instrument that decodes bodily function at any point in time.

The science of cryptography and the jealousy with which nature guards information have much in common. In cryptography, messages are hidden within sources of information using encoding of multiple types. Though a developed ELISA plate has beauty, it is also a cryptic form of information that requires skill in interpretation. The Cryptogram Challenge: Elisa Redux is a follow-on to the last Cryptogram Challenge, which exhibited much success on GEN in September 2009. Elisa Redux has taken cryptography to a new level and has refined the challenge for our solvers. Like the last Cryptogram Challenge, Elisa Redux was created to convey both the beauty of the ELISA plate and the power of its retained information by encoding within it a powerful message using a specific cryptographic technique. In addition, Elisa Redux conveys the immense power of biologic images to convey complex information even when appearing to be superficially simple—in this case, monochromatic. Unlocking the code in the Cryptogram Challenge: Elisa Redux will reveal a message that illuminates our emotions, as we search for knowledge.

Peter C. Johnson, M.D.

Peter C. Johnson, M.D., is the President and CEO of Scintellix, LLC, a biomedical technology consulting company in Raleigh, NC. He is the creator of the popular GEN contest Microarray Challenge based on the MicroArray (2008) image and is the author of multiple graphic arts books. He is also the creator of GEN's last contest, the Cryptogram Challenge based on the 96 Well (2009) image. He formerly practiced reconstructive surgery, founded the Pittsburgh Tissue Engineering Initiative, and co-founded and was CEO of TissueInformatics, Inc. Dr. Johnson is presently the co-editor in chief of the journal Tissue Engineering (Parts A, B, and C). Dr. Johnson serves on multiple boards and is the National Chair of the University of North Carolina Medical Excellence Fund.

About Scintellix, LLC

Scintellix, LLC applies decision analysis methodologies to support the resolution of complex problems in personal and corporate development. It is located in Raleigh, NC. www.scintellix.com

Copyright 2009, Peter C. Johnson, M.D.

Decode the cipher hidden in this 96-well plate.

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