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20 BioScapes Contest Photos--Life Viewed through the Microscope

Winners and other images from the 2008 BioScapes Photo Competition use light microscopes to portray extraordinary images of biological specimens

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1. Mr. Spike Walker
thumb: 1. Mr. Spike Walker

1. Mr. Spike Walker

Fairy fly. Actually a type of wasp, it is one of the smallest insects in the world, at only 0.21 millimeter long. Originally captured using Rheinberg illumination....[More]

2. Mr. Thomas Shearer
thumb: 2. Mr. Thomas Shearer
2. Mr. Thomas Shearer Agatized petrified wood. Photo was captured using polarized light.
Thomas Shearer, Duluth, Minn., U.S. [Link to this slide]
2008 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition®
3. Dr. Stephen Nagy
thumb: 3. Dr. Stephen Nagy
3. Dr. Stephen Nagy Extinct fossil diatom from Tertiary deposits in Dunkirk, Md. The interference contrast image was captured using a 40X objective.
Dr. Stephen Nagy, Helena, Mont., U.S. [Link to this slide]
2008 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition®
4. Dr. Albert Pan
thumb: 4. Dr. Albert Pan

4. Dr. Albert Pan

"Brainbow" zebra fish. Neurons are labeled in multiple colors with Brainbow fluorescence microscopy. Three fluorescent
proteins (cyan, yellow and red) are randomly taken up by various neurons, offering a palette of dozens of colors to help scientists follow complex neural pathways....[More]

5. Dr. Shirley Owens
thumb: 5. Dr. Shirley Owens

5. Dr. Shirley Owens

Silphium perfoliatum . The cup plant, showing mature pollen in branched stigmata. The pollen grains are numerous and small with spiked outer walls. Sixty optical sections were used for the extended-focus image....[More]

6. Mr. David Walker
thumb: 6. Mr. David Walker
6. Mr. David Walker Snail radula, a toothed, chitinous ribbon used for scraping, cutting and chewing food. Image captured at 30X magnification.
David Walker, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, U.K. [Link to this slide]
2008 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition®
7. Dr. Neal Melvin
thumb: 7. Dr. Neal Melvin
7. Dr. Neal Melvin The adult mouse hippocampus, located in the temporal lobe of the brain.
Dr. Neal Melvin, University of Texas, Department of Psychiatry, Dallas, Tex., U.S. [Link to this slide]
2008 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition®
8. Mr. Gerd Guenther
thumb: 8. Mr. Gerd Guenther
8. Mr. Gerd Guenther Trichodina pediculus, a "hydra bug". Image captured at about 600X magnification using differential interference contrast.
Gerd Günther, Düsseldorf, Germany. [Link to this slide]
2008 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition®
9. Mr. Charles Krebs
thumb: 9. Mr. Charles Krebs

9. Mr. Charles Krebs

Jewel beetle, Chrysochroa fulgens, including part of the beetle's eye [ upper right ], viewed at approximately 40X using diffuse reflected light. Multiple images were combined for extended depth of field....[More]

10. Dr. Petr Znachor
thumb: 10. Dr. Petr Znachor

10. Dr. Petr Znachor

Starlike colonial diatom imaged with fluorescence microscopy. Green indicates newly deposited silica; red is chlorophyll.
Petr Znachor, Institute of Hydrobiology, Ceské Budejovice, Czech Republic....[More]

 Mr. Earl Nishiguchi--Honorable Mention
thumb:  Mr. Earl Nishiguchi--Honorable Mention
Mr. Earl Nishiguchi--Honorable Mention Daphnia, live. Image captured in dark field at 45X.
Earl Nishiguchi, University of Hawaii, Lihue, Hawaii, U.S. [Link to this slide]
2008 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition®
Mr. Ralph Grimm--Honorable Mention
thumb: Mr. Ralph Grimm--Honorable Mention
Mr. Ralph Grimm--Honorable Mention Eye of a honeybee (Apis mellifera) 40X.
Ralph Grimm, Jimboomba, Queensland, Australia. [Link to this slide]
2008 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition®
Dr. Alvaro Migotto--Honorable Mention
thumb: Dr. Alvaro Migotto--Honorable Mention
Dr. Alvaro Migotto--Honorable Mention Mantis shrimp larva. Captured using stereomicroscopy and dark-field illumination.
Alvaro Migotto, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. [Link to this slide]
2008 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition®
Dr. Michael Veeman--Honorable Mention
thumb: Dr. Michael Veeman--Honorable Mention

Dr. Michael Veeman--Honorable Mention

Juvenile sea squirt ( Ascidiella aspersa ). The three sets of rings are the forming musculature around the oral [ top ] and atrial [ lower two ] siphons. Other visible structures include the esophagus, stomach, endostyle, peripharyngeal band and gill slits....[More]

Dr. Sara Lindsay--Honorable Mention
thumb: Dr. Sara Lindsay--Honorable Mention

Dr. Sara Lindsay--Honorable Mention

Muscles in a marine worm head. Feeding, burrowing and building tubes in sand and mud requires coordination of a surprisingly complex complement of muscles in marine worms....[More]

Dr. Giuliano Zanchetta--Honorable Mention
thumb: Dr. Giuliano Zanchetta--Honorable Mention

Dr. Giuliano Zanchetta--Honorable Mention

This image reproduces the focal conics texture of the columnar liquid crystalline (LC) phase of small fragments of double-stranded DNA (12-nucleotide-long, self-complementary sequences: CGCGAATTCGCG)....[More]

Mrs. Tora Bardal--Honorable Mention
thumb: Mrs. Tora Bardal--Honorable Mention
Mrs. Tora Bardal--Honorable Mention Lobster eggs, magnified 1.25X.
Tora Bardal, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway. [Link to this slide]
2008 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition®
Mr. Viktor Sýkora--Honorable Mention
thumb: Mr. Viktor Sýkora--Honorable Mention

Mr. Viktor Sýkora--Honorable Mention

Echinocystis lobata (wild cucumber)--detail of fruit. Image captured at 10X using a stereo microscope and dark-field illumination.
Viktor Sýkora, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic....[More]

Mr. Christian Gautier--Honorable Mention
thumb: Mr. Christian Gautier--Honorable Mention
Mr. Christian Gautier--Honorable Mention Cat tongue. Transverse section captured at 20X using bright-field microscopy.
Christian Gautier, Le Mans, France. [Link to this slide]
2008 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition®
Mr. Thomas Deerinck--Honorable Mention
thumb: Mr. Thomas Deerinck--Honorable Mention

Mr. Thomas Deerinck--Honorable Mention

Cerebral cortex vasculature: In situ imaging of the superficial vasculature of rat cerebral cortex by wide-field confocal microscopy. Efforts are underway to improve visualization of specific features of the brain using in situ multiple-dye labeling....[More]

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2 Comments

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  1. 1. Bobo 07:53 AM 11/18/08

    I like the Nikon Small World Photomicrograph contest better.
    Bobo

    Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this
  2. 2. koibeatu 10:05 AM 11/24/08

    awesome images!

    i especially liked the super close up look at cats tounge, pollen, and bees eye.

    Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this
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