Quick microscope setup guide for Life Sciences inverted microscopes

SWITCH ON THE MICROSCOPE

Plug-in the microscope to the power supply (1). Switch it on (2) and gradually increase the light intensity up to the desired level (black wheel on the right side of the microscope) (3).

Cladonia coccifera

This cup lichen is common in forests, sand dunes and heathland. It grows between moss and grass and is about half a centimeter tall. It has a red-colored spore forming fruiting or apothecia.

Lichens are tough organisms which can survive on the most unlikely places, where plants cannot grow. For example, in the desert, in the Antarctic, in high mountains.

Pear rust and Junipers

Pear Rust is an increasingly common fungal disease in pear trees. This disease can significantly slow the growth of a pear tree, and the tree will also give less fruits. Pear Rust is a fungus that cannot stay the whole year on the pear: in winter the tree has no leaves and the fungus is only present there. In winter, the fungus needs a Juniper to overwinter. After the winter the fungus makes spores, which are spread through the air. The spores fall on the pear tree, causing the fungal disease.

Micro skeletons from the sea

Silicoflagellates belong to a small group of marine planktonic organisms with siliceous skeletons composed of opaline rods. Silicoflagellates are both photosynthetic and heterotrophic. The cell size ranges from 20 to 80 μm.

Their internal silica skeletons are composed of a network of bars, and resemble those of radiolarians but are generally much less complex. Silicoflagellate skeletons usually comprise 1-2% of the siliceous component of marine sediments; they are