30 Images Of Life Under A Microscope

1 minute read
Part of the front foot of a giant diving beetle at 100x magnification.
Part of the front foot of a giant diving beetle at 100x magnification.Dr. Igor Siwanowicz
By Alexandra Sifferlin

Some of the world’s most stunning beauties can’t be seen with the naked eye.

Every year, scientists and microscope devotees submit their images and movies of life science objects shot under a microscope to the Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition. Artists from 70 countries send in about 2,500 images to the competition every year to be judged by a panel of experts in the field. Here are this year’s honorees.

Part of the front foot of a giant diving beetle at 100x magnification.
Part of the front foot of a giant diving beetle at 100x magnification. Dr. Igor Siwanowicz
A leg of a hoverfly at 20x magnification.Dr. Jan Michels
A beetle head seen with confocal microscopy.Dr. Joseph Parker
Barnacle appendages at 100x magnification.
Barnacle appendages at 100x magnification.Dr. Igor Siwanowicz
Weevils seen with stereo microscopy.Dr. Csaba Pintér
A green cone-headed planthopper at 200x magnification. Dr. Igor Siwanowicz
A horsetail stem stained white.Olivier Leroux
Worm larva at 10x magnification.Dr. David Johnston
A butter daisy at 2x magnification.Oleksandr Holovachov
A probiscis of a vampire moth at 10x magnification.Dr. Matthew S. Lehnert; Ashley L. Lash
ParameciumArturo Agostino
A louse fly with its eggsYousef Al Habshi
A kidney.
A kidney showing microvasculature.Ruben Sandoval
A spurge flower.
A spurge flower showing five nectaries.Dr. Somayeh Naghiloo
A retina.
A retina.Thomas Deerinck
A mosquito larva at 100x magnification.
A mosquito larva at 100x magnification.Charles Krebs
A diatom at 500x magnification.
A diatom at 500x magnification.Robert Lavigne
Bamboo seen with a 3D projection of a z-stack of confocal images.
Bamboo seen with a 3D projection of a z-stack of confocal images.Fernan Federici
A dandelion at 10x magnification.
A dandelion at 10x magnification.Thomas Deerinck
A spore cluster.
A spore cluster known as Polypodium aureum.Anatoly Mikhaltsov
A Rat brain cerebellum at 300x magnification.
A Rat brain cerebellum at 300x magnification.Thomas Deerinck
Micri algae showing chloroplasts.Rogelio Moreno Gill
A geranium wildflower.Karl Gaff
Two mosquito pupae
Two mosquito pupae.Jerzy Rojkowski
A liverwort at 125x magnification.
A liverwort at 125x magnification.Magdalena Turzańska
Sections of a leaf from an orchardgrass.Gerd A. Guenther
An earth-boring dung beetle.
An earth-boring dung beetle.Dr. Helle Juel Martens
Motoneurons in the brain of a mouse at 60x magnification.
Motoneurons in the brain of a mouse at 60x magnification.Dr. Katie Matho
Isopod
The underside of an isopod made seen with fluorescence and image stacking.Waldo Nell
A moss specie called Tortula ruralis.
A moss specie called Tortula ruralis.Dr. Csaba Pintér

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