Microscopes

Micscape Micscape is a monthly publication written by microscopists and naturalists from around the world. It is a free magazine for Internet users from Microscopy UK sponsored by several small businesses.

1. History of the Light Microscope The microscope has become one of the most recognizable symbols of science. This paper covers the early history of the microscope, starting with use of a simple lens in ancient times, to the first compound microscope circa 1590, up to the microscopes of the 19th century.

2. Van Leeuwenhoek   Antony van Leeuwenhoek liked to watch. It seems the 17th-century Dutchman would grab anything he could lay his hands on and shove it under a homemade microscope. After scraping plaque off his teeth ("as thick as if 'twere batter"), Leeuwenhoek discovered - no, not the importance of brushing twice daily - bacteria. With his acute eyesight and skill at grinding magnifying lenses, he went on to open up an entire world of microscopic life to science. He made the first observations of sperm cells, blood cells and various forms of algae. This site provides many of his eloquent descriptions that make protists sound like synchronized swimmers - only more interesting.
   

3. Scanning Electron Microscope With the SEM, you can view specimens that cannot be seen with the naked eye. The images you will see here include the Aids virus, a paramecium, a silicon chip, a diatom (a type of microbe) and the eye of a fly.  How is the SEM different from a light microscope? Unlike a light microscope, the SEM uses electrons instead of white light to view the specimen. With the SEM you can only view inanimate materials, but you can magnify them up to 200,000 times. Rather than seeing "through and inside" a living organism, as you would with a light microscope, you are viewing the surface. SEM images are in black and white because only light carries color information.

4. How to Collect and See the Microbial Community Collecting the bacteria and viewing them through a microscope is one way to tell important differences in the water chemistry from one site to the next.  Techniques for collecting and studying the iron bacteria are simple and are presented here. U.S.  Geological Survey.

5. B-EYE Program B-EYE simulates the optics of a honey bee's (Apis mellifera) eye. It is based on findings of a number of anatomical and behavioural studies.

Images from Microscopes

1. Algae Images Bowling Green State University
   Light and electron micrographs of diatoms and algae. Educational use permitted.
2. C elegans from the Ambros Lab, Dartmouth
   Light micrographs of C elegans (worms).
3. NanoTheatre from Digital Instruments
   This is an extensive collection of biological (cells, viruses, DNA, hair, and more), semiconductor, data storage, and materials Scanning Probe Microscopy images which are available for downloading for educational use only.
4. Microscapes Photo Gallery , Michael W. Davidson, Florida State University
   A great collection of light microscopy images. The What's Cool section of the gallery contains wallpapers that can be used for WWW site backgrounds.
5. Entomology images, Iowa State University
   Educational use is permitted for the MPEG movie of a potato beetle and ticks and dissecting microscope images of mosquitoes, fleas, ticks, lice, and Ixodes scapularis dissection sequence. Use of the scanning electron microscope images and the images in logos is not permitted.
6. Electron Microscope Laboratory: CSU Fullerton, Biological Science.
   TEM images of a section of sperm tails and head of a sea squirt (Ascidia ceratoides) and freeze fracture replica of a mouse pancreas cell. SEM images of a small ocean mollusc, scale from the wing of a butterfly, cornicles of an aphid, integrated circuit, 8088 microprocessor chip, an aphid on a leaf, head of a milkweed bug, aluminum surface of a CD, honey bee stinger, and bacteria.
7. C. elegans Server, Riddle Lab University of Missouri-Columbia, USA
   Scanning electron and transmission electron micrographs of C. elegan tissue and larval.
8. NanoWorld: Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis , University of Queensland, Australia
   Extensive collection of scanning electron micrographs for teaching or general education.
9. Animal Virus Electron Micrographs, Queen's University, Belfast, UK
   The site has digitized electron micrographs in GIF or JPEG format of animal virus that can be used for educational purposes. Images include poxvirus, orthopoxvirus, parapoxvirus, herpesvirus, adenovirus, egg drop syndrome virus, papillomavirus, parvovirus, adenovirus and adeno-associated virus, reovirus, rotavirus, birnavirus, coronavirus, infectious bronchitis virus, bovine enteric coronavirus, influenza, paramyxovirus, pneumovirus, picornavirus, astrovirus, circovirus, chicken anaemia virus, calicivirus, bovine calicivirus, pig calicivirus, and torovirus.
10. Plant Virus Images, Rothamsted Experimental Station, UK
    About 35 plant virus images in GIF and JPEG format that can be used for educational purposes
11. Digital Confocal Images Images from Vaytek
    All images on this site can be downloaded for educational use. The Application Notes are accompanied by images that illustrate the technical application of digital deconvolution software within digital imaging systems.