Microscopes

Nikon’s Small World competition has been running for nearly 50 years and it is one of the most compelling and reliably spectacular photo contests in the world. This year's contest featured many mesmerizing images like this small white hair spider by Javier Rupérez.

A completely new category of microscopy has been invented by researchers in the US. Dubbed DNA microscopy, the technique tags RNA molecules with a range of DNA "barcodes" which in turn flag the identity and location of the molecules, even when they're stacked on top of each other.

A surreal close-up of a weevil eye has taken the top prize at this year’s Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition. The magnificent annual photography competition, now in its 44th year, celebrates the skill and artistry in the world of microscopic photography.

Using techniques borrowed from astronomy, biologists have developed a new microscopy technique that delivers extraordinary 3D video of cells moving around inside living tissue. It's a fascinating window into just how busy and complex life is at the cellular level.

​There are now attachments that let you capture microscope images with a smartphone. Unfortunately, the limitations of the phone's lens and image sensor mean that those images still won't be as good as those from a lab-grade microscope. That could change, however, thanks to a recent advance in AI.

​Justin Zoll’s microscopic photography is a perfect fusion of art and science. These mind-bending psychedelic images are all created by placing crystallized substances such as menthol, MDMA or caffeine onto a slide and using different light filters to create these lurid, kaleidoscopic results.

In a move that could revolutionize the development of new cancer treatments, researchers from the University of Newcastle and the Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI) have created the world's first virtual platform to host 3D copies of human cancer tissues.

Researchers at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) have used a new technique to produce detailed images of dragonfly wings, showing more than 10 billion tiny 'fingers' (nanostructures) lining the wing surface that make bacteria tear themselves apart.

​Is that raw spinach really safe to eat, or is it contaminated? In the near future, an inexpensive device that's linked to your smartphone could warn you of harmful bacteria in your food. The technology is currently being developed at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

By some estimates, the human eye can distinguish between a million colors, yet scientists looking through a microscope have been limited to seeing only five. Researchers have blasted through this "color barrier" with a new technique that ups microscopy's color vision to 24 different shades.

​Researchers have developed a groundbreaking technique that uses sound rather than light to see inside live cells. The new technique provides insight into the structure and behavior of cells that could rival the optical super-resolution techniques that won the 2014 Nobel Prize for Chemistry.

​​If a couple is having difficulty conceiving a child, it's important that the man get a motility test done. The problem is, a lot of guys feel awkward about going to a clinic and "providing a sample" on-site. That's where the smartphone-based YO system comes in.