Welcome to Nikon's MicroscopyU website, designed to provide an educational forum for all aspects of optical microscopy, digital imaging, and photomicrography. Together with the scientists and programmers at Molecular Expressions, Nikon microscopists and engineers are providing the latest state-of-the-art information in microscope optics and imaging technology including specialized techniques such as fluorescence, differential interference contrast (DIC), phase contrast, reflected light microscopy, and microscopy of living cells. We invite you to explore our website and discover the exciting world of optics and microscopy.

2007 Small World Contest Winners - Images of specimens entered into the 2007 Small World contest included insects, recrystallized chemicals and biochemicals, fluorescently labeled tissue sections, insects, plants, various microorganisms, liquid crystals, and fibers. Judges for the 33rd annual contest were Thomas Deerinck (University of California, San Diego), Nicole Dyer (Popular Science), John Hart (University of Colorado, Boulder), Malcolm Ritter (Associated Press), and Daniel Sieberg (CBS News).

2007 Small World Screen Saver - Enjoy the beautiful digital images that were chosen as winners of the 2007 annual Small World Competition on your own personal computer as a screen saver. Small World screen savers have been developed for computers utilizing the Windows (95, 98, NT, 2000, and XP) operating system and are available as free downloads to our visitors.

Purchase Nikon's Small World 2008 Calendar - The Nikon Small World 2008 Calendar is printed in full color on 8.5 x 11 semi-gloss paper and spiral bound for mounting on the wall. Included in the calendar are the top 20 prize winners, the 16 honorable mentions, and all 62 images of distinction. Winning entries included insects, recrystallized chemicals and biochemicals, fluorescently labeled tissue sections, plants, various microorganisms, liquid crystals, and fibers.

Enter the 2008 Competition - Contestants may enter Nikon's Small World Competition on the MicroscopyU website by uploading digital images directly to our servers. Before you begin, read the Contest Rules and prepare your images for uploading according to the instructions. You may also download a 2008 Competition Entry Form in portable document format (*.PDF) for submission of entries through the mail system. Deadline for all entries is April 30, 2008.

Nikon Coolscope Digital Microscope - The Nikon Coolscope digital microscope is a self-contained unit (resembling a personal computer tower), which includes all of the necessary functions for observation of specimens in brightfield illumination, along with convenient digital image capture, and local or wide area network communication capabilities. The unit features a simple configuration with an intuitive graphical user interface displayed in a single window for quick and efficient operation. This interactive tutorial examines remote operational capabilities of the Coolscope using the native browser screen provided with the software package.

Fluorescence Microscopy Digital Image Gallery - The widefield reflected light fluorescence microscope has been a fundamental tool for the examination of fluorescently labeled cells and tissues since the introduction of the dichromatic mirror in the late 1940s. Furthermore, advances in synthetic fluorophore design coupled to the vast array of commercially available primary and secondary antibodies have provided the biologist with a powerful arsenal in which to probe the minute structural details of living organisms with this technique. In the late twentieth century, the discovery and directed mutagenesis of fluorescent proteins added to the cadre of tools and created an avenue for scientists to probe the dynamics of living cells in culture. This gallery examines the fluorescence microscopy of both cells and tissues with a wide spectrum of fluorescent probes.

Live-Cell Imaging - An increasing number of investigations are using live-cell imaging techniques to provide critical insight into the fundamental nature of cellular and tissue function, especially due to the rapid advances that are currently being witnessed in fluorescent protein and synthetic fluorophore technology. As such, live-cell imaging has become a requisite analytical tool in most cell biology laboratories, as well as a routine methodology that is practiced in the wide ranging fields of neurobiology, developmental biology, pharmacology, and many of the other related biomedical research disciplines. Among the most significant technical challenges for performing successful live-cell imaging experiments is to maintain the cells in a healthy state and functioning normally on the microscope stage while being illuminated in the presence of synthetic fluorophores and/or fluorescent proteins.

Laser Safety - The two major concerns in safe laser operation are exposure to the beam and the electrical hazards associated with high voltages within the laser and its power supply. While there are no known cases of a laser beam contributing to a person's death, there have been several instances of deaths attributable to contact with high voltage laser-related components. Beams of sufficiently high power can burn the skin, or in some cases create a hazard by burning or damaging other materials, but the primary concern with regard to the laser beam is potential damage to the eyes, which are the part of the body most sensitive to light.

Innovations in Light Microscopy - Evolution of the optical microscope over the past centuries has been driven by scientists who wish to observe and measure phenomena that were smaller, fainter, and deeper inside tissue than ever before. Although the new instruments on the market have brought the microscope to a high level of development, we will probably never reach that goal as long as scientific research continues. Future needs will require innovations that we cannot yet even foresee, but the best of today's instruments provide the user with vastly more performance and versatility than were possible just a few years ago.

Basic Microscope Ergonomics - In order to view specimens and record data, microscope operators must assume an unusual but exacting position, with little possibility to move the head or the body. They are often forced to assume an awkward work posture such as the head bent over the eye tubes, the upper part of the body bent forward, the hand reaching high up for a focusing control, or with the wrists bent in an unnatural position.

Introduction to Polarized Light Microscopy - Although much neglected and undervalued as an investigative tool, polarized light microscopy provides all the benefits of brightfield microscopy and yet offers a wealth of information, which is simply not available with any other optical microscopy technique. As well as providing information on absorption color and boundaries between minerals of differing refractive indices obtainable in brightfield microscopy, polarized light microscopy can distinguish between isotropic and anisotropic materials. The technique exploits optical properties of anisotropy to reveal detailed information about the structure and composition of materials, which are invaluable for identification and diagnostic purposes.

Principles and Applications of Interferometry - The foundation for interferometry (often referred to as microinterferometry) dates back to the Nineteenth Century with the introduction of the first interference microscope, which was based on the principles of the Jamin interferometer. Since that period, a number of commercial interference microscopes, both with transmitted and reflected light capabilities, have been produced by a number of manufacturers. Primarily designed to yield quantitative data from interference images, these microscopes utilize various technologies to determine parameters such as refractive index, birefringence, and thickness for a wide spectrum of materials.

• Two Beam Interferometry - A two-beam interferometer functions by dividing originally coherent light into two beams of equal intensity, directing one beam onto the reference mirror and the other onto the specimen, and measuring the optical path difference (the difference in optical distances) between the resulting two reflected light waves.

• Multiple-Beam Interferometry - The technique of multiple-beam interferometry is based upon situating two surfaces of high reflectivity in close proximity and using a lens to converge beams which have undergone multiple-reflection between the surfaces.