Amoebas - Shapeshifters of the microworld

Amoebas are free living eukaryotic organisms capable of changing their shape in order for it to move and feed. This is done by extending cellular projections called pseudopodia (see image). When the amoeba moves it uses these projections as a form of conveyor belt stretching towards the desired way of movement and the cell then fills the pseudopod with its insides called the endoplasm creating a sort of rolling movement as seen in the video below. When feeding, the organism will surround the food with its cell membrane and absorb it into its cell body where it is digested. A big part of the endoplasm is made up of these ingested particles as well as cellular organelles such as mitochondria and the nucleus containing the DNA.

Christmas spirit

To create a Christmas atmosphere through the microscope’, three small amounts of chemicals were dissolved in some tap water. These include aluminum nitrate, ammonium dichromate and copper sulphate.

Put a few drops of this solution on a microscope slide and let the water evaporate slowly. With a little patience, beautiful images can be seen through the microscope, using crossed polarizers and a lambda plate.

The mix of chemicals creates the most bizarre crystal shapes, some of which were captured on the sensitive plate using photo-stacking.

Merry Christmas!

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Toxic Taxus baccata

Taxus baccata has deep dark green needles all year round. It is an evergreen tree that is also often used as a hedge. In winter, Taxus bears red fruits that are much loved by birds, but very poisonous to ungulates.

Taxus baccata is usually a sturdy shrub that, if given space, can grow into a tree. Growth is slow but eventually the tree can reach a height of about 15 to 20 meters with a width of 12 to 15 meters. The species is widely used for hedges and also for topiary. Bulbs, cones, columns and even animal shapes are available. Taxus can tolerate very strong pruning, even down to the perennial wood.

Bdelloid rotifers - An entire class of animals with no males

We have previously looked at the microscopic animals called Rotifers in general, but today we are going to take a closer look at a specific class of rotifers called Bdelloidea with quite a unique way of living. Bdelloid rotifers are extremely common all over the world where they can be found in different freshwater habitats like ponds, streams, moss, and garden birdbaths where they can be found in enormous amounts from time to time. These animals are incredibly tiny with a size of only 150 - 700 microns when fully stretched. Like other rotifers they feed on microalgae, bacteria, and single celled organisms. So far they sound just like other rotifers, however they are very different in a few ways.

Boost your resistance

At the time of the Corona crisis, many people resort to remedies to increase resistance to disease, such as vitamin C and Multi vitamin tablets. These, in this case foam tablets, contain many other substances besides the vitamins. Although the subject ‘vitamin C’ has been used many times in microscopy, it is still fun to view the crystals of these substances under the polarization microscope.

So, no sooner said than done, the tablets are now up for grabs at home anyhow. Dissolve a tablet in water, filter the solution, heat a few droplets of the solution on an object glass over a spirit burner in order to saturate it by evaporation. Let it crystallize patiently, put a cover glass on it and move it under the microscope.