Tardigrade SEM photo

[wporter]

For those who missed this great image:

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap170326.html


(Not my photo, but I wish it was!)

[btschumy]

That just doesn't look real, does it?

[KurtM]

No, it doesn't look real come to think of it. I've seen this image before, and just assumed it's a perfectly legitimate SEM image of a living Tardigrade. But now, seeing as we're in a microscopy forum, can we discuss it with an aim to getting to the bottom of it? How was it managed - is it even possible to get SEM imagery of living critters??

I'm currently at a remote west Texas outpost with limited resources, so not able to do a lot more than check email and the occasional forum visit, let alone begin a Google campaign on this. Thanks.

[Crater Eddie]

I have see that before and always assumed it was artwork, but if you follow the link and read the caption it says it is a "color-enhanced electron micrograph".
CE

[RudiV]

I am pretty sure there is not much "real" left in that image! The first place I saw it they said it was an "artists impression" of what it looks like.

Rudi

[kit1980]

I agree the image looks very suspicious. They don't claim it's alive, though.

Also, pixel dimensions are suspiciously large: on http://images.sciencesource.com/preview ... S8236.html, it says the width is 13.7" at 300dpi, so it's 4110 pixels. I'm not sure there are SEMs with such pixel resolution. But it maybe be a scan from an analog SEM, or just algorithmic upsizing.

[kit1980]

Also, many sources claims (probably copy from each other) how robust and resilient tardigrades are, specifically that they can withstand huge pressure.
I'm yet to find a tardigrade to look under a microscope, but I suspect if the water evaporates, pure creature will be easily crushed by the cover glass.

[wporter]

It can't be alive; the preparation protocols (that I used to use on single-celled organisms, at least) for SEM examination involved fixing, then dehydration (several steps in increasing % ethanol), then critical-point drying, then sputter-coating with a gold flash (to reflect the electron beam). This tardigrade definitely looks like it has been prepped like that: shrunken and dehydrated. The image should've had a better caption or disclaimer attached to it, it is kind of misleading. Of course, these are tardigrades, maybe they can survive the procedure (lol)!

OK, I've just found a beautifully-written protocol on the internet, well-worth reading:

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Wi ... ion_detail

and how to collect & keep them:

https://sun.iwu.edu/~tardisdp/sdp_protocols.html