Just stumbled upon this article from Wired magazine, which is chock full of amazing, real images that biologist have accrued with their powerful microscopes. Apparently, lens maker Nikon holds an annual competition for the best photo produces through microscopy. The article has the best of the best from the past 35 years - very cool. Check it out!
The image above is a double transgenic mouse embryo - it looks like both the developing mouse (in pink) and the mother's placenta (green) have been genetically altered to glow their fluorescent colors under the microscope. Incidentally, that's the same technology a team of neuroscientists used to make the nerve cells appear rainbow colored - as in the image that makes up the blog's banner.
In another note, I have made an executive decision to give everybody an opportunity to recoup some points on their unit exam by doing a little research on microscopy... more details to come on Tuesday.
Enjoy your three day weekend!
