Nikon MicroscopyU - The Source for Microscopy Education
Small World Image Gallery
Images of specimens entered into the 2005 Small World Contest included insects, recrystallized chemicals and biochemicals, fluorescently labeled tissue sections, plants, various microorganisms, liquid crystals, and fibers. Judges for the 31st annual contest were Jennifer C. Waters (Harvard Medical School), Todd James (National Geographic), Emily Harrison (Scientific American), and Alexey Khodjakov (Wadsworth Center).
2005 Contest Prizewinners
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First Prize
1st Prize - Charles B. Krebs
Charles Krebs Photography - Issaquah, Washington, USA
Specimen: Muscoid fly (house fly) (6.25x)
Technique: Reflected light
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Second Prize
2nd Prize - Thomas J. Deerinck
National Center for Microscopy & Imaging Research - University of California – San Diego - La Jolla, California, USA
Specimen: Quantum dot fluorescence image of mouse kidney section (240x)
Technique: Fluorescence (2-photon)
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Third Prize
3rd Prize - Stefan Eberhard
Complex Carbohydrate Research Center - University of Georgia - Athens, Georgia, USA
Specimen: Crystallized Vitamin A (40x)
Technique: Polarized light
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Fourth Prize
4th Prize - Edy Kieser
Ennenda, Switzerland
Specimen: Crystallized succinic acid and urea (50x)
Technique: Polarized light
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Fifth Prize
5th Prize - Neil J. Egan
PPG Industries - Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Specimen: Bacteria growth in Petri dish (30x)
Technique: Stereomicroscopy
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Sixth Prize
6th Prize - Margaret N. Oechsli
Jewish Hospital, Heart & Lung Institute - Louisville, Kentucky, USA
Specimen: Phenyl threonine (20x)
Technique: Brightfield
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Seventh Prize
7th Prize - Dr. Shirley A. Owens
Center for Advanced Microscopy - Michigan State University - East Lansing, Michigan, USA
Specimen: Carpet fibers (20x)
Technique: Fluorescence and polarized light
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Eighth Prize
8th Prize - Thomas J. Deerinck
National Center for Microscopy & Imaging Research - University of California – San Diego - La Jolla, California, USA
Specimen: Quantum dot fluorescence image of mouse small intestine (120x)
Technique: Fluorescence (2-photon)
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Ninth Prize
9th Prize - Dr. John M. Huisman
Murdoch University - Murdoch, Western Australia, Australia
Specimen: Chaetomorpha antennina (seaweed) (20x)
Technique: Brightfield
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Tenth Prize
10th Prize - Susan Johnson
CSIRO Plant Industry, Horticulture Unit - Glen Osmond, South Australia, Australia
Specimen: Vitis vinifera (grape) (10x)
Technique: Darkfield
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Eleventh Prize
11th Prize - Ron J. Oldfield
Department of Biological Sciences - Macquarie University - Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Specimen: Lepidozia sp. (a liverwort) spores and elaters (100x)
Technique: Brightfield
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Twelfth Prize
12th Prize - Edy Kieser
Ennenda, Switzerland
Specimen: Crystallized potassium chlorate (40x)
Technique: Polarized light
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Thirteenth Prize
13th Prize - Chiedozie Ukachukwu
Biomedical Photographic Communications Student - Student at the Rochester Institute of Technology - Rochester, New York, USA
Specimen: Bryozoan Statoblast (diminutive aquatic animal of the phylum Bryozoa) (10x)
Technique: Darkfield
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Fourteenth Prize
14th Prize - Dr. Paul D. Andrews
Division of Gene Regulation and Expression, School of Life Sciences - University of Dundee - Dundee, UK
Specimen: Xenopus (frog) XLK2 cell (100x)
Technique: Fluorescence and deconvolution
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Fifteenth Prize
15th Prize - Dr. Shumel Silberman
Ramat Gan, Israel
Specimen: Geranium flower (20x)
Technique: Fiber optic illumination
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Sixteenth Prize
16th Prize - Dr. Donald W. Pottle
The Schepens Eye Research Institute - Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Specimen: Crystalline formations from evaporated contact lens solution (400x)
Technique: Differential interference contrast
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Seventeenth Prize
17th Prize - Jan Schmoranzer
Columbia University - New York, New York, USA
Specimen: NIH 3T3 fibroblasts (mouse cells) (600x)
Technique: Fluorescence
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Eighteenth Prize
18th Prize - Dr. Christian Bohley
Department of Experimental Physics - Otto-von-Guericke-University of Magdeburg - Magdeburg, Germany
Specimen: Cholesteric phase of 55% CB15 in E48 (substance used in manufacture of Liquid Crystal Displays) (100x)
Technique: Polarized light
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Nineteenth Prize
19th Prize - Ian C. Walker
Huddersfield, UK
Specimen: Feather of a Dominican Cardinal Bird (25x)
Technique: Crossed-polars Rheinberg illumination
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Twentieth Prize
20th Prize - Dr. Oliver Skibbe
AlgaTerra Information System - Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum, Berlin-Dahlem - Berlin, Germany
Specimen: Living diatoms— Pinnularia sp. (Bacillariophyceae) (250x)
Technique: Differential interference contrast
Honorable Mentions
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Honorable Mention - Tracy E. Anderson
Imaging Center - College of Biological Sciences - University of Minnesota - St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
Specimen: Velcro® being pulled apart (94x)
Technique: Stereomicroscopy with epi-ring illumination
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Honorable Mention - Dr. Marie-Hélène Bré
Laboratory of Cellular Biology - University of Paris, South - Orsay, France
Specimen: Tetrahymena thermophila (protozoa) cells (1500x)
Technique: Confocal
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Honorable Mention - Dr. Alistair M. Dove
Marine Sciences Research Center - Stony Brook University - Stony Brook, New York, USA
Specimen: Homarus americanus (American lobster) larvae (40x)
Technique: Stereomicroscopy (Episcopic)
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Honorable Mention - Conor L. Evans and Eric O. Potma
Xie Research Group - Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology - Harvard University - Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
Specimen: CARS interferometry of dodecane droplets in water (40x)
Technique: Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Scattering (CARS)
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Honorable Mention - Dr. Patrick C. Hickey
LUX Biotechnology Ltd. - Edinburgh, UK
Specimen: Hyphal tips of Neurospora crassa (a filamentous fungus) (20x)
Technique: Confocal
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Honorable Mention - Dr. Dennis D. Kunkel
Dennis Kunkel Microscopy, Inc. - Kailua, Hawaii, USA
Specimen: Crystallized ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) and sucrose (40x)
Technique: Polarized light
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Honorable Mention - Dr. Stephen S. Nagy
Montana Diatoms - Clancy, Montana, USA
Specimen: Fossil marine diatom, Actinoptychus heliopelta (900x)
Technique: Jamin-Lebedeff interference contrast
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Honorable Mention - Dr. Nasser M. Rusan
University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill - Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
Specimen: LLC-PK1 (pig epithelial) cells (1000x)
Technique: Confocal, epi-fluorescence, and deconvolution
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Honorable Mention - Catherine Russell and Amanda Leach
Department of Polymer Science and Engineering - University of Massachusetts Amherst - Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
Specimen: Electric field placed across layers of polydimethyl siloxane and polystyrene on a polished silicon wafer (60x)
Technique: Reflected light
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Honorable Mention - Spike Walker
Microworld Services - Penkridge, UK
Specimen: Film of supersaturated solution scratched with a needle (4x)
Technique: Rheinberg illumination and polarized light
Images of Distinction
- Mark H. Armitage
Image of Distinction - Mark H. Armitage
Liberty University - Lynchburg, Virginia, USA
Specimen: Firefly tissue (Photinus pyralis) (50x)
Technique: Interference contrast
- Mark H. Armitage
Image of Distinction - Mark H. Armitage
Liberty University - Lynchburg, Virginia, USA
Specimen: Fresh gill tissue from fish (Gillichthys mirabilis) (25x)
Technique: Interference contrast
- Dr. Pedro J. Barrios
Image of Distinction - Dr. Pedro J. Barrios
National Research Council of Canada/Institute for Microstructural Sciences - Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Specimen: Etched groove in silicon (200x)
Technique: Darkfield
- Rakesh Bhatnagar
Image of Distinction - Rakesh Bhatnagar
Department of Biological Sciences, Advanced Microscopy Facility - University of Alberta - Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Specimen: Corn stem section (100x)
Technique: Confocal
- Dr. Francisco Capani
Image of Distinction - Dr. Francisco Capani
Insitituto de Biologia Celular y Neuroscience Prof Eduardo de Robertis - University of Buenos Aires - Beccar, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Specimen: Purkinje cell (63x)
Technique: Fluorescence
- Paul Cuddon
Image of Distinction - Paul Cuddon
The Babraham Institute - Sawston, Cambridgeshire, UK
Specimen: Primary rat hippocampal neurons (630x)
Technique: Confocal
- Paul Cuddon
Image of Distinction - Paul Cuddon
The Babraham Institute - Sawston, Cambridgeshire, UK
Specimen: Primary rat hippocampal neurons (200x)
Technique: Confocal
- Dr. Edna Cukierman
Image of Distinction - Dr. Edna Cukierman
Fox Chase Cancer Center - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Specimen: Pollen grains (60x)
Technique: Spinning disc confocal
- Richard W. Daniels
Image of Distinction - Richard W. Daniels
School of Medicine - Washington University - St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Specimen: Neuromuscular synapses in a Drosophila larva (20x)
Technique: Confocal
- Karl E. Deckart
Image of Distinction - Karl E. Deckart
Eckental, German
Specimen: Injection molded CD jewel case (10x)
Technique: Polarized light
- Stefan Eberhard
Image of Distinction - Stefan Eberhard
Complex Carbohydrate Research Center - The University of Georgia - Athens, Georgia, USA
Specimen: Recrystallized saccharin (16x)
Technique: Polarized light
- Dr. Andy J. Fischer
Image of Distinction - Dr. Andy J. Fischer
Department of Neuroscience - The Ohio State University - Columbus, Ohio, USA
Specimen: Retina thin section (20x)
Technique: Differential interference contrast and fluorescence
- Irmgard Fischer
Image of Distinction - Irmgard Fischer
University Vienna - Vienna, Austria
Specimen: Human skin (40x)
Technique: Brightfield
- Jerry A. Gleason
Image of Distinction - Jerry A. Gleason
Institute of Neuroscience - University of Oregon - Eugene, Oregon, USA
Specimen: Urea crystals (100x)
Technique: Polarized light
- Dr. Edgar R. Gomes
Image of Distinction - Dr. Edgar R. Gomes
Department of Anatomy Cell Biology - Columbia University - New York, New York, USA
Specimen: Fibroblast microtubule organizing center (60x)
Technique: Fluorescence
- Raul M. Gonzalez
Image of Distinction - Raul M. Gonzalez
Raul Gonzalez Photography - Mexico City, Mexico
Specimen: Water crystal (25x)
Technique: Brightfield
- Ralph C. Grimm
Image of Distinction - Ralph C. Grimm
Science Department - Woodridge State High School - Jimboomba, Queensland, Australia
Specimen: Radiolarians (100x)
Technique: Differential interference contrast
- Marieka Gryzenhout
Image of Distinction - Marieka Gryzenhout
University of Pretoria - Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
Specimen: Cladonia (lichen) (0.8x)
Technique: Stereomicroscopy
- Dr. John E. Hart
Image of Distinction - Dr. John E. Hart
Program in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (PAOS) - University of Colorado - Boulder, Colorado, USA
Specimen: Mixture of acetaldehyde and carbon tetrabromide (7x)
Technique: Polarized light
- Dr. Patrick C. Hickey
Image of Distinction - Dr. Patrick C. Hickey
LUX Biotechnology LTD - Edinburgh, UK
Specimen: Neurospora crassa germinating spores (20x)
Technique: Confocal
- Dr. Borge Holme
Image of Distinction - Dr. Borge Holme
SINTEF Materials Technology - Oslo, Norway
Specimen: Silica sol on a polished steel surface (200x)
Technique: Differential interference contrast
- Dr. Jan Huisken
Image of Distinction - Dr. Jan Huisken
European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) - Dransfeld, Germany
Specimen: Medaka fish embryos (20x)
Technique: Fluorescence stereomicroscopy
- Zdenka Jenikova
Image of Distinction - Zdenka Jenikova
CVUT - FSI - Praha 2, Czech Republic
Specimen: Moth wing scales (200x)
Technique: Episcopic polarized light and darkfield
- Edy Kieser
Image of Distinction - Edy Kieser
Ennenda, Switzerland
Specimen: Crystallized nickel nitrate and resorcinol (45x)
Technique: Polarized Light
- Dr. Paul Knox
Image of Distinction - Dr. Paul Knox
University of Leeds - Leeds, UK
Specimen: Transverse section of Arabidopsis stem (200x)
Technique: Fluorescence
- Milan Kosanovic
Image of Distinction - Milan Kosanovic
Belgrade, Yugoslavia
Specimen: Copper sulphate, nylon fishing Line, and nylon bag (1x)
Technique: Polarized light
- Milan Kosanovic
Image of Distinction - Milan Kosanovic
Belgrade, Yugoslavia
Specimen: Fishing line and cellophane tape (1x)
Technique: Polarized light
- Charles B. Krebs
Image of Distinction - Charles B. Krebs
Charles Krebs Photography - Issaquah, Washington, USA
Specimen: Water boatman (Hemiptera:Corixidae) rear leg (50x)
Technique: Rheinberg illumination
- Jan C. Kros
Image of Distinction - Jan C. Kros
Hellevoetsluis, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands
Specimen: Pine leaf transverse section (48x)
Technique: Brightfield (Inverted image)
- Kathryn A. Leach
Image of Distinction - Kathryn A. Leach
Polymer Surfaces and Interfaces Group - Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
Specimen: Silicone oil on a polished silicon wafer (80 um wide)
Technique: Reflected light
- Dr. Jacques Lefebvre
Image of Distinction - Dr. Jacques Lefebvre & Pedro Barrios
National Research Council of Canada/Institute for Microstructural Sciences - Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Specimen: Contact pad array (500x)
Technique: Darkfield
- Dr. Ingo Lieberwirth
Image of Distinction - Dr. Ingo Lieberwirth
Max-Planck Institute for Polymer Research - Mainz, Germany
Specimen: Light emitting polymer (200x)
Technique: Polarized light
- Dr. Ingo Lieberwirth
Image of Distinction - Dr. Ingo Lieberwirth
Max-Planck Institute for Polymer Research - Mainz, Germany
Specimen: Light emitting polymer (200x)
Technique: Polarized light
- Dr. Taija Makinen
Image of Distinction - Dr. Taija Makinen
Max-Planck-Institute of Neurobiology - München, Germany
Specimen: Mouse dermal lymphatic vessels (10x)
Technique: Stereomicroscopy
- Peggy L. Mann
Image of Distinction - Peggy L. Mann
Ametek - Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA
Specimen: Dislocations in etched germanium single crystal (100x)
Technique: Differential interference contrast
- Robert Markus
Image of Distinction - Robert Markus
Biological Research Center of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences - Szeged, Csongrád, Hungary
Specimen: Wing scales of Deilephila elpenor (Elephant hawk-moth) (50x)
Technique: Darkfield
- Dr. Luis Marrero
Image of Distinction - Dr. Luis Marrero
Louisiana State University - New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
Specimen: Mouse digit tip with nail (40x)
Technique: Confocal
- César S. Mendes
Image of Distinction - César S. Mendes
The Rockefeller University - New York, New York, USA
Specimen: Killer gene Hac-1 in the developing Drosophila (fruit fly) eye (60x)
Technique: Fluorescence
- Rodrigo Mexas
Image of Distinction - Rodrigo Mexas
Maria Emilia da Cunha Mexas and Jose Eugenio Mexas Filho - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Specimen: Megabalanus azoricus (40x)
Technique: Differential interference contrast
- Dr. Monika C. Müller
Image of Distinction - Dr. Monika C. Müller
University of Osnabrueck - Osnabrück, Niedersachsen, Germany
Specimen: Tentacular crown of the polychaete Spirorbis spirorbis (1000x)
Technique: Confocal
- Dr. Kuruganti G. Murti
Image of Distinction - Dr. Kuruganti G. Murti
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital - Memphis, Tennessee, USA
Specimen: Fluorescent antibody precipitate dried on a slide (1000x)
Technique: Fluorescence
- Ronald N. Neumeyer
Image of Distinction - Ronald N. Neumeyer
Delta, British Columbia, Canada
Specimen: Tilia stem (60x)
Technique: Polarized light
- Ron J. Oldfield
Image of Distinction - Ron J. Oldfield
Department of Biological Sciences - Macquarie University - Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Specimen: Fresh unstained whole leaf of the liverwort Podomitrium phyllanthus(165x)
Technique: Brightfield
- Alan C. Opsahl
Image of Distinction - Alan C. Opsahl
Pfizer Inc. - East Lyme, Connecticut, USA
Specimen: Rat seminiferous tubule (40x)
Technique: Brightfield
- Dr. Shirley A. Owens
Image of Distinction - Dr. Shirley A. Owens
Michigan State University - Flushing, Michigan, USA
Specimen: Leaf-like structures of a moss gametophyte (20x)
Technique: Confocal
- Dr. Stephen W. Paddock
Image of Distinction - Dr. Stephen W. Paddock
Department of Molecular Biology - University of Wisconsin - Madison, Wisconsin, USA
Specimen: Butterfly pupal wing epithelium (200x)
Technique: Confocal
- Costanza Panbianco
Image of Distinction - Costanza Panbianco
Wellcome Trust/Cancer Research UK Gurdon Institute - University of Cambridge - Cambridge, UK
Specimen: Caenorhabditis elegans dissected gonad (200x)
Technique: Fluorescence
- Dr. Heiti Paves
Image of Distinction - Dr. Heiti Paves
Tallinn University of Technology - Tallinn, Estonia
Specimen: Transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana flower (120x)
Technique: Differential interference contrast
- Dr. Donald W. Pottle
Image of Distinction - Dr. Donald W. Pottle
The Schepens Eye Research Institute - Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, USA
Specimen: Kaleido-micrograph of bovine artery cells (200x)
Technique: Fluorescence
- Piotr Rotkiewicz
Image of Distinction - Piotr Rotkiewicz
Droplet Microscopy - Amherst, New York, USA
Specimen: Soap bubbles (100x)
Technique: Polarized light
- Dr. Greg W. Rouse
Image of Distinction - Dr. Greg W. Rouse
South Australian Museum - Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Specimen: Dorsal view of female syllid polychaete with embryos (50x)
Technique: Darkfield
- Dr. John Runions
Image of Distinction - Dr. John Runions
School of Biological and Molecular Sciences - Oxford Brookes University - Oxford, UK
Specimen: Eight-cell plant embryo (100x)
Technique: Confocal
- Dr. John Runions
Image of Distinction - Dr. John Runions
School of Biological and Molecular Sciences - Oxford Brookes University - Oxford, UK
Specimen: A living root tip growing in agar (100x)
Technique: Confocal
- Neal R. Scruggs
Image of Distinction - Neal R. Scruggs
California Institute of Technology - Pasadena, California, USA
Specimen: Ferroelectric liquid crystal (10x)
Technique: Polarized light
- Stuart Shand
Image of Distinction - Stuart Shand
Center for Biologic Imaging - University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Specimen: Rat gut (10x)
Technique: Fluorescence
- Dr. David R. Sherwood
Image of Distinction - Dr. David R. Sherwood
Department of Biology - Duke University - Durham, North Carolina, USA
Specimen: Caenorhabditis elegans expression of the vertebrate proto-oncogene fos in whole worms (1000x)
Technique: Fluorescence
- Dr. Oliver Skibbe
Image of Distinction - Dr. Oliver Skibbe
AlgaTerra Information System - Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum, Berlin-Dahlem - Berlin, Germany
Specimen: Caloneis amphisbaena (Bacillariophyceae) diatom (1000x)
Technique: Differential interference contrast
- Ron Sturm
Image of Distinction - Ron Sturm
CTL Group - Skokie, Illinois, USA
Specimen: Dried film of amorphous silica and aqueous colloidal solution (10x)
Technique: Darkfield
- Joshua D. Sugar
Image of Distinction - Joshua D. Sugar
University of California-Berkeley - Berkeley, California, USA
Specimen: Surface cavities partially filled with a metal alloy (300x)
Technique: Reflected light
- Viktor Sykora
Image of Distinction - Viktor Sykora
Institute of Pathophysiology - Charles University - Prague, Czech Republic
Specimen: Drosera scorpioides (30x)
Technique: Stereomicroscopy
- Viktor Sykora
Image of Distinction - Viktor Sykora
Institute of Pathophysiology - Charles University - Prague, Czech Republic
Specimen: Drosera coccicaulis (20x)
Technique: Stereomicroscopy
- Tomasz Szul
Image of Distinction - Tomasz Szul
Cell Biology - University of Alabama at Birmingham - Birmingham, Alabama, USA
Specimen: Cultured rat lung fibroblasts (40x)
Technique: Fluorescence
- Harold Taylor
Image of Distinction - Harold Taylor
Kensworth, UK
Specimen: Diatoms (100x)
Technique: Heine phase contrast
- Kristina Thaemelt
Image of Distinction - Kristina Thaemelt
Student at SCION - Rotorua, New Zealand
Specimen: Radiata pine impregnated with chitosan (16x)
Technique: Confocal
- Dr. Carsten Tschierske
Image of Distinction - Dr. Carsten Tschierske
Institute of Organic Chemistry - University of Halle - Halle, Germany
Specimen: B1 liquid crystal phase (200x)
Technique: Polarizing microscopy
- Dr. Rudolf Oldenbourg
Image of Distinction - Physiology Course 2004 and Dr. Rudolf Oldenbourg
Marine Biological Laboratory - Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA - Orkun Akin and Dyche Mullins - Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology - Marine Biological LaboratorySan Francisco, California, USA
Specimen: Five-micron polystyrene sphere coated with ActA protein moving with an actin tail in a purified protein component motility system (3900x)
Technique: Polarized light
- Nikolai N. Vsevolodov
Image of Distinction - Nikolai N. Vsevolodov
George Mason University - Kensington, Maryland, USA
Specimen: Recrystallized lysine (100x)
Technique: Phase contrast
- Morgan Woods
Image of Distinction - Morgan Woods
Discovery Research - Purdue Pharma L.P - Allentown, New Jersey, USA
Specimen: Rat spinal cord astrocytes (1000x)
Technique: Fluorescence
- Dr. Robert M. Zucker
Image of Distinction - Dr. Robert M. Zucker
USEPA - RTP, North Carolina, USA
Specimen: Mosquito larvae (100x)
Technique: Confocal
- Dr. Robert M. Zucker
Image of Distinction - Dr. Robert M. Zucker
USEPA - RTP, North Carolina, USA
Specimen: Mosquito larvae (100x)
Technique: Confocal