Issue 21 - March 2011

ARTICLES

Soap film through the microscope: digital photographed and illuminated by flash
Images provided by renowned German photographer (both micro and macro) Karl E. Deckart. With his reflected light microscopy using differential interference contrast techniques, Karl has been a consistent winner of the RMS Micrograph Competition and the Nikon Small World competition and has collected many prizes and honorable mentions over the years. He describes his method of capturing the stunning images.

Development and Testing of an Ultraviolet Light Monitor for Fluorescence Microscopy
Current quantitative analysis in fluorescence microscopy considers that in the image formation process of the microscope, the sample behaves as a fluorescent stable-emitter. However, the flux from ultraviolet lamps is variable throughout their useful life and as time passes, such variations are incremented in rate and amplitude. It is crucial to consider these variations in images when quantitative methods are required in modern microscopy. In this article, Javier Eduardo Diaz-Zamboni and Víctor Hugo Casco show the development of a very simple device and method to test and measure these variations. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

A Comparison of Herbarium Dried, Critical Point Dried and Fresh Plant Material Using High Vacuum and Variable Pressure SEM
The Herbarium at the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, houses some three million dried plant specimens collected from all over the world. Many of these are precious because of historical connections and others are valuable because they may be the only remaining records of extinct species. Dating from the 17th century, the Herbarium collection provides botanists and taxonomists with an invaluable reference aid to plant classification.

Hidden Worlds – Secret Lives: Opening Children’s Eyes to the Beauty of the Microscopic World Around Them
Microscopy in primary schools is often limited by the equipment available and the ability of teachers to use microscopes successfully. A research centre at the University of York set out to address this with an outreach project that introduced pupils and teachers to the wonder of the microscopic world around us and increased their interest and enthusiasm for science.

Vice President's Fund Award Winner 2012: CancerScapes
The Royal Microscopical Society's Vice President’s Fund supports initiatives that benefit the public understanding of science or the developing world. In 2010, a Vice President’s Fund award was given to ‘CancerScapes’. This is a report from applicants Peter Hamilton & Stewart Church, Queen’s University Belfast.

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