Image mosaics are composed of many individual tiles, which are color-matched.

A drop of inorganic fertilizer greatly enhances the growth of algae in a mini-aquarium.

Paramecia are single-celled organisms, belonging to the group of protozoa. They are covered with cilia, which beat and move the cell in the water. Diluted milk was added to the sample to make the water movement visible.

Be patient as the picture loads…. The top image is a focus animation of a water flea, the bottom one a rocking GIF made with Picolay. Both images give a sense of depth perception. It appears as if there are two smaller organisms carried in the back of the mother. The dark spots are the […]

Be patient as the picture loads. It is an animated GIF showing the claws of the leg of a honey bee (the tarsus). I have used the free image editing software GIMP to make this picture. The steps are as follows: Take a series of pictures of different focus. Make sure that they are numbered […]

The leaves are the photosynthetic organs of a plant. The cells are packed with chloroplasts, which convert CO2 gas from the atmosphere and water to glucose, using the energy of sunlight. The produced glucose is then either respired and used as an energy source, or it is converted to other organic substances needed for plant […]

This instructional video gives an introduction into the correct use of the microscope.

The two images show the fresh water polyp Hydra sp taken with the iPad held in front of the eyepiece (40x and 400x total magnification). The images were uploaded directly and not edited (except resize).

The wing of flies and bees (of hymenoptera in general) are thin and membranous. Place the dry wing into Euparal mounting medium and place a further drop on top of the wing, before adding the cover glass. Wet mounts should also work well. Notice the veins and the numerous small hair, which cover the wing.

Bird feathers are relatively easy specimens to observe. Take a feather, cut off a small piece of the feather with scissors and embed it into a hydrophobic mounting medium, such as Euparal. Alternatively you can make a dry mount, and use no mounting medium at all (use adhesive tape to fix the cover glass to […]

I just want to share a nice video that I found. It’s worth watching.

There are several solutions for connecting a camera to a microscope. In this post I want to show you some of the ways that I used in the past and the advantages and disadvantages of each approach.

What are some of the things to look out for when buying a microscope for children? Here is a FAQ which covers the essential points.

The Notes and Records is a periodical publication by the Royal Society and is now available for free download. Many published articles relate to microscopy.

Safety issues in microscopy are not only relevant to amateur microscopists, but also for teachers who want to conduct basic microbiological and microscopic work in a school laboratory. In this case the organisms are alive and depending on the type of organism, they may pose a possible health hazard. The post addresses some of the safety issues that should be taken into consideration.

This is a truly interesting innovation. The microscopy slide is scanned at high resolution and zooming and panning is done over the touch screen.

Projection screens are useful if several people want to look at the specimen. The screen is mounted on the trinocular head instead of a camera.

Air bubbles in wet mounts can also have beneficial effects. They may supply ciliates and other organisms with oxygen.

Alcohol can be used for fixing specimens, but is not commonly used for fixing bacteria.

A wet mount uses a liquid mounting medium, in most cases water. It is also possible to make a wet mount using pure glycerine. Wet mounts are temporary in nature and can not be stored over extended time periods. A wet mount is probably one of the most universal ways of preparing a slide. The […]

Squashing the specimens (instead of cutting them) is a fast and easy way to prepare specimens.

The pollen grains from a dandelion (Taraxacum sp.) were collected and air-mounted (no liquid mounting medium used). Eleven separate images were stacked together to increase the depth of field and to produce the final image. The color contrast was then adjusted. Dark-field patch stop was used.

Is it possible to use microscopes to identify pathogens, such as the EHEC bacterium, which currently (May-June 2011) causes problems in some parts of Europe? The answer is, unfortunately, no.

The zoomable image shows the cross-section through the tongue of a rabbit. The muscles fibers and taste buds are visible.
 

Here we’re having a look at the Leica BM E educational microscope. This model is equipped with a 4x, 10x and 40x objective, with the possibility of adding a further objective.