Interesting things under the microscope. The human body under a microscope (17 photos)
A truly powerful microscope is not something that people buy for fun, but if there is one, it will not lie idle. We have proven more than once that even the oldest trinket in the house becomes an incredible, surreal, amazing, sometimes even frightening piece of art when viewed through a microscope. It's like a peephole into a parallel world.
Don't you understand what I mean? Then take a look at the mind-boggling enlarged images:
8. Chalk
Life-size chalk [publicphoto.org]Chalk is used at school to play classics. If you grind it into powder, you get the resemblance to sand and something else ... In general, chalk, as we know it, is not very interesting.
Close up: foraminifera [PLOS Biology] Hmm, looks like a soccer ball. In fact, foraminiferal shells are the main component of chalk. Foraminifera are the simplest unicellular organisms with an external skeleton (shell).
Life-size kosher salt [blogspot.ru] Kosher salt is larger than usual and has the ability to absorb the blood of meat, like the salt Dracula.
Close-up of Kosher Salt [Museum of Science] The kosher salt crystal strongly resembles an ancient temple.
Kosher salt crystals under a microscope [science photo library] And here's another shot - so that you can make sure that all kosher salt consists of "pyramids".
Life-size orange juice [blogspot.ru] This is the most common orange juice of a frankly orange color, but what will we see under a microscope?
Orange juice under the microscope [telegraph.co.uk] As it turns out, orange juice contains only a tiny bit of orange, more closely resembling the view inside a kaleidoscope. So now you know that while enjoying orange juice in the morning, you are drinking liquefied shards of all the colors of the rainbow.
5. Snow
We all love snow [picturesofwinter.net] Unusually beautiful pieces of icy poetry that can cause sincere childish joy, as well as fall like an unstoppable blizzard on an unlucky traveler who had the imprudence to be outside on a particularly frosty winter day.
Snow in an enlarged size under a microscope [Science Musings] Yes, and this is not a child's craft made of paper, this is a real snowflake under a microscope. Well - this proves to us once again that nature is imperfect!
www.wired.com] Let's take another look at the snow under a microscope.
4. Anatomy of insects
Normal size fly [jhunewsletter.com] Fly Tsokotukha.
Fly close up [Wikimedia Commons] Looks like a square scorpion!
It is quite possible that after what you see, you will stop just as carelessly transferring the neighborhood of these all kinds of harmful insects.
A tick bite can cause Lyme disease. And here is a snapshot of what he bites with (in a scientific hypostome):
"What a cute tongue you have!" This hypostome belongs to the black-eyed tick. Now take a look at the knife-like mouth of the black-footed tick:
Dangerous creature And here is the enlarged sting of the mosquito:
Mosquito sting under the microscope [Ben133uk] This is how they drink our blood. So do not regret another mosquito that has died from your hand.
Close-up sea water [wordpress.com] Water is life.
Microorganisms found in seawater [N. Sullivan / NOAA / Department of Commerce] This is not water itself, but those who inhabit it. All 247 quadrillion microorganisms. These are diatoms - the general name for dead algae that flood the ocean and, one way or another, sometimes get into your organisms (when swimming in the sea, for example). Some are delicious. Most, unfortunately, look like either cigars or industrial waste.
Life-size fly ash [www.manatts.com] You see fly ash all the time, you just don't know what it is. And this is crushed coal used to strengthen concrete and asphalt. True, it is very radioactive, so you should not come close to a cloud of such a mixture.
Fly ash under a microscope [wikimedia.org] Under the microscope, fly ash looks like a dead planet with countless craters and lifeless, rocky islands. Or maybe this is another soap party. Or anything else - depending on your imagination, you can voice your options in the comments.
1. Shark skin
Shark Skin Normal Size [wordpress.com] Sharks are amazing creatures: if a shark stops moving, it dies, a shark can smell a tiny drop of blood in a huge volume of water, unborn children of sharks eat each other in the womb until there is only one left. The only thing that does not deserve attention in her is her skin.
Shark skin under the microscope [George Lauder] And, no, her skin, it turns out, is also extremely extraordinary. It is made of teeth. By the way, they are called denticles, and their purpose is to reduce the water resistance when the shark moves.
Shark skin, enlarged many times [Australian Museum] Let's increase it further. Shark skin under the microscope resembles sharp teeth, so it used to be used as a polishing material (nowadays, sandpaper is used). Borazo is the name given to shark skin with polished scales, which is the most expensive skin in the world.
Things are very often not what they seem at first glance. In any case, if you look at them under a microscope. Our review contains photographs, looking at which you will not immediately understand what exactly got into the photographer's lens. Look and be surprised.
1. Marine diatoms
Colonial organism of plankton - Chaetoceros debilis, increased 250 times. Photographer Wim van Egmond of the Micro-Museum in Berke-en-Rodenjinis, South Holland.
2. The paw of an adult mouse at 100x magnification
The picture shows blood vessels, cells of the immune system and soft tissues. Photographer Dr. Andrew J. Woolley, Himanshi Desai and Kevin Otto, Purdue University, Indiana.
3. Marine worm at 20x magnification
Photographer Dr. Alvaro Estevez Migotto of the University of São Paulo, Center for Marine Biology, Brazil.
4. Tungsten filament in incandescent lamps
Household incandescent lamp filament. Photographer Gerald Poirier.
5. Velcro
The principle of operation of the "Velcro".
6. Rust
Rust under the magnifier.
7. Crystal salt
Common kitchen salt.
8. Sugar crystals
Crystals of refined sugar and brown sugar.
9. Grains of salt and pepper
These multi-colored boulders are actually grains of salt and black pepper from a spice jar.
10. Vinyl record
1000x magnification of the vinyl record surface.
11. Needle with red thread
The eye of a threaded needle.
12. Guitar string
Guitar string structure.
13. Dust increased by 22,000,000 times
Household dust (cat hair, synthetic fibers, plant pollen and insect debris).
14. Used dental floss
Used dental floss looks terrible at high magnification.
15. Human eyelashes at 50x magnification
Our regular eyelashes are home to microscopic creatures called Demodex.
16.4x magnification of a working ant (Aphaenogaster senilis)
Photographer Dimitri Siborus, from Paris, France.
17. Clutch of fish eggs (magnification 6.6x)
Photographer Dr. Jaime Gomez - Gutierrez, Center for Interdisciplinary Marine Sciences, Mexico.
18. Egg of the long-winged zebra butterfly
The picture was taken using an electron microscope, so that it fully reproduces the actual appearance of the egg, which is no more than 2 mm.
19. Blue Morph butterfly egg
Fertilized egg of a butterfly blue morph. The wingspan of an adult of this species can reach twenty centimeters. This is one of the largest butterflies on our planet.
20. Water mite
Tick under the microscope.
21. Carrion Fly
Carrion fly larva Calliphora vomitoria.
22. Chicken embryo
The embryo under the microscope.
23. Fly
A live fly under a microscope, but in life it is not so scary ...
24. Mole
Side view.
25. Caterpillar
Caterpillar mouth under the microscope.
26. Microcrack in steel
A crack in the metal that closely resembles a canyon.
27. Hypodermic needle with blood particles
The tip of a used needle after medical manipulation, erythrocytes are visible everywhere.
28. The tip of the self-tapping screw
A detailed view of the self-tapping screw.
29. The surface of the tongue under the microscope
Taste receptors on the tongue.
30. Fingerprint
Photographer Karin Whitmore.
31. This is what a cut looks like
Blood particles in the cut.
32. Human tooth
Practical work No. 5 Study of chalk under a microscope.
Target: study chalk, sketch its structure, draw conclusions about its origin.
All seas and oceans are inhabited by unicellular organisms, the body of which is enclosed in a shell. According to modern ideas, they constitute a special type of Foraminifera (from the Latin "foramin" - hole and "ferre" - to carry). Foraminiferal shells usually have several chambers with holes in the walls through which pseudopods protrude.
Most foraminifera live at the bottom of the seas, as the heavy shell does not allow them to float to the surface of the water. But there are species that live in the water column; their shells have spikes that increase the overall surface, making it easier to soar in the aquatic environment
The calcareous shells of the dead foraminifera settle to the bottom of the sea. Over time, they are compressed, forming layers of sedimentary rocks - limestone (chalk). Man has long appreciated the merits of sedimentary rocks formed from the skeletons of protozoa. For example, limestone was used in the construction of the Egyptian pyramids, temples of Vladimir-Suzdal Rus, the snow-white houses of Sevastopol, old buildings in Paris, Rome, Vienna and other cities of the world.
Radiolarians, or rayworms, are exclusively marine protozoa. Radiolarians inhabit the southern seas with a high concentration of salts. They live mainly in the upper, more oxygenated layers of water.
Radiolarians are characterized by a variety of forms. The most common are spherical radiolarians with long filamentous pseudopods and radial rays of the silica skeleton. This is where their second name comes from - ray beams (see Fig. 8).
A characteristic feature of these protozoa is the presence of an intracellular central capsule and an internal skeleton. Inside the capsule there are one or more nuclei and inclusions of organic matter, for example, fat drops. This makes the radiolarians lighter, and they "soar" in the water column.
Radiolarians feed on the smallest algae and protozoa, capturing them with pseudopods.
Like foraminifera, radiolarians play an important role in the formation of sedimentary rocks. Dense layers consisting of radiolarian skeletons are called mountain flour or tripoli in technology. It is used for polishing metal and glass products, as well as for making fine sandpaper.
Complete the tasks:
Read the text;
Explain the origin of chalk (limestone) - in writing in a notebook;
What conditions are necessary for the formation of chalk (limestone)?
How people use chalk (limestone) - in writing in a notebook;
Sketch in a notebook what chalk looks like under a microscope, a few radiolarians and foraminifera;
Make a conclusion about the structure of chalk (limestone) - in writing in a notebook.
Without a doubt, the microcosm can impress even those who have decided to link their lives with science. What can we say about inquisitive beginners or schoolchildren, he surprises even when a person is internally ready for this. And once again this will be proved by the study of chalk under microscope... The laboratory work of the same name is included in the school curriculum of grade 7 in biology. However, it will be much more interesting for young biologists to understand everything on their own, experiment and formulate their first conclusions.
Examining chalk under a microscope It is advisable to carry out at that stage of training when the researcher is able to correctly handle the optical device - he understands what illumination, focusing, etc. are. A lot has been written about this, and I would like to focus on the theoretical and practical parts of the experiment.
As a rock of organic origin, chalk contains the remains of microscopic unicellular organisms. These are primarily radiolarians. They can have a very bizarre shape, they often turn out to be unlike one another. They are distinguished by the presence of pseudopods - processes that give the calf the ability to move. A skeletal structure is also widespread, strongly resembling a twisted shell, reduced many times. In addition, foraminifera can be found in the form of whitish shells, mainly consisting of calcium carbonate. Particles of sea or river algae are mixed with this. This is such an unusual composition of a seemingly homogeneous white solid substance, a careful study of which under a microscope will completely change the previously formed idea.
Now about the practice. The study of chalk under a microscope should be carried out by the bright field method in transmitted light. This implies turning on the lower light (for those models in which it is built-in) or adjusting it with a mirror (if natural lighting is implemented).
The experience is set up in several stages:
- It is necessary to grind the chalk to a powder state.
- The resulting chalk dust is neatly poured onto a glass slide - in a small layer with a hill in the center.
- Using a pipette, drop one drop of water onto a glass of chalk.
- The prepared micropreparation is located strictly under the lens, centered on the table.
- Research begins with the smallest magnification, then the magnification is gradually increased.
Hunter bugs (Nabidae) with their large front legs capture prey: aphids, caterpillars, cicadas and other soft-bodied insects. Their brown color helps to hide well among the environment. These living organisms are found on a dried maple leaf. Photo taken through a microscope.
The photo shows the pod of a flowering plant of the legume family Scorpius muricatus.
Stink beetle eggs. Some living organisms have neither powerful jaws nor a deadly sting, so they scare away enemies in another rather effective way - by releasing a liquid with a disgusting odor, such as this type of beetle.
Dried scales of a gray kidney weevil under a microscope. These beetles damage all types of fruit trees, berry bushes, forest deciduous trees and shrubs. They completely eat up the buds or later eat up the leaves.
Wheat infected with the ergot fungus (Claviceps) and examined under a microscope. Long black outgrowths called sclerotia appear on the ears. In the Middle Ages, a real epidemic broke out in various parts of Europe - ergot poisoning, which claimed thousands of lives and caused indescribable suffering and agony. These epidemics took two forms: one was accompanied by nervous convulsions and epileptic symptoms; the other is gangrene, shrinkage and atrophy of the limbs.
Living organisms, protozoa Elphidium Crispum.
Seed of purslane, a perennial herb with fleshy reddish stems, up to 30 cm high.
Another photograph of living organisms, taken through a microscope - young sporangia Arcyria stipata - crowded, on legs, cylindrical, bent and deformed from mutual squeezing. They are 2 mm high and 0.5 mm wide.
Muddot foot (Eristalis Tenax). Silt fly is one of the most interesting living organisms. It got its name from the cylindrical shape of the body with a long tail. Its habitat is the mud near the stable, near the drainpipes - dirty tubs for water from under the drops, running small ponds. This fly somewhat resembles a drone, for which, especially due to the similarity of its buzz, it is often mistaken.
Plant seeds from freshwater ponds near Moscow. Photo taken with a microscope.
Living organisms under a microscope in the stage of spontaneous apoptosis (programmed cell death).
Ovaries and uterus of a fruit fly under a microscope. The muscular and nervous structure of the reproductive system of Drosophila is shown using fluorescence microscopy. There are two types of these living organisms: the Mediterranean fruit fly, which lays eggs in unripe fruits and vegetables (young flies feed on the pulp of the fruit, which leads to the possible destruction of the entire crop) and a tiny fly that flies over the rotting fruits in our house - Drosophila (female lays its eggs only in those fruits that have already begun to rot and small flies feed only on those substances that are formed in rotting fruits).
Connective tissue cells and transduced fluorescent proteins.
The rotifer Rotifer Floscularia viewed under a microscope. This is a type of multicellular living organisms previously referred to the group of primary cavity worms. There are about 1500 species of rotifers, of which 600 are found in Russia. These are mainly freshwater inhabitants, but they can also be found in the sea and wet soils.
The hippocampus of an adult mouse under a microscope is an area of the brain involved in learning and memory.
Argopecten irradians scallops under a microscope.
Homoptera dragonfly eye. Homoptera dragonflies spend two years in the form of an underwater larva, continuing to feed and develop in order to turn into an adult winged insect, which has only a few days of life.
Coral Montastraea annularis. A photograph of a living organism was taken using a microscope.
The skeleton of radiolarians, unicellular planktonic organisms that live mainly in warm ocean waters. The skeleton is composed of chitin and silicon oxide.
Spherical colonies of Nostoc, blue-green algae. These living organisms are closest to the most ancient microorganisms, the remains of which were found on Earth. These are the only bacteria capable of oxygenic photosynthesis.
Neural cultures, fluorescence. Photo taken with a microscope at 40x magnification.
Front wings of the green horse beetle (Cicindela campestris). The field horse reaches the size of 12 - 16 mm. This is a very agile beetle that keeps on open sandy places and is always in motion. Horses move nimbly by leaps, and at the slightest danger they fearfully fly up and fly away. It is almost impossible to catch a horse with your hands.
Sporangia of the mold Craterium concinnum under a microscope. This mold is located in small rare communities, attaching itself on the base d from 0.21 to 0.51 mm, height from 0.51 to 0.81 mm.