MicrobeWorld

fd virus membranes and various other assemblages. Credit: Dr. Zvonimir Dogic, Dr. Thomas Gibaud, Dr. Edward Barry & Mark Zakhary

2012 Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition Image of Distinction

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View an interactive animation of the life cycle of the malaria parasite, of the genus Plasmodium. The lifecycle of the malaria parasite is split between female mosquitoes and humans. In the mosquito gut, the parasites complete sexual reproduction and then multiply rapidly to produce many more p... Read More

This confocal micrograph, taken as part of a synthetic biology project, shows Bacillus subtilis, a Gram-positive, rod-shaped bacterium that is commonly found in soil. Distinct lineages of bacteria expressing different fluorescent proteins were initially mixed randomly on a petri dish. As the bac... Read More

Nikon Small World 2012 PHOTOMICROGRAPHY COMPETITION, IMAGE OF DISTINCTION, Rogelio Moreno Gill

Euplotes belongs to the class Nassophorea in the phylum Ciliophora; the ciliates, of which there are approximately 8,000 species, are generally considered to be the most evolved and complex of the p... Read More

A relatively straightforward classroom experiment produces fascinating images by students at the University of Surrey when they imprinted their smartphone onto a bacterial growth medium. Read More

From the shiny, strong nacre that gives abalone shells an unbreakable, opaline sheen, to the goopy mix of proteins fired by a velvet worm that solidify and trap prey upon impact, nature is packed with inspiration for scientists designing new materials.

Waterproof adhesives and self-cleaning s... Read More

Nikon Small World Honorable Mention 2008 photomicrography competition, Dr. Petr Znachor, Institute of Hydrobiology, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic

Coiled filamentous cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. (600x)
Technique: Nomarski Differential Interference Contrast Read More

As the bacteria grow within a biofilm, they organize themselves into reproducible patterns and shapes that can be predicted with mathematical models.
Image: Confocal microscopy of a bacterial biofilm composed of Escherichia coli expressing the fluorescent proteins mCherry and sfGFP. The image w... Read More

This digitally-colorized scanning electron micrograph (SEM) depicted the dorsal (upper) surface of a Giardia protozoan that had been isolated from a rat’s intestine. Some of the identifying morphologic characteristics include pairs of thread-like flagella that facilitate motility, and a ventolat... Read More

Nikon Small World 2012 PHOTOMICROGRAPHY COMPETITION, IMAGE OF DISTINCTION, Wim van Egmond, Micropolitan Museum, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Nassula ornata, conjugating ciliates Read More

Trypanosoma brucei, a protozoan parasite, is the causative agent of African sleeping sickness in humans (T. b. gambiense and T. b. rhodesiense) and nagana in cattle (T. b. brucei). These diseases result in much economic hardship and morbidity in Sub-Saharan Africa. The life cycle of these organi... Read More

We continue our series of images that have made a difference in microbiology. This one, published by John Cairns in 1963 has earned a most deserved place in textbooks and reviews. It shows a radioautograph of an intact E. coli chromosome in the act of replicating. From this image, Cairns conclud... Read More

Olympus Bioscapes, Honorable Mention, Dr. Petr Znachor, Laboratory of Phytoplankton Ecology, Institute of Hydrobiology,Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic.

Specimen: Cyanobacterium Anabaena planctonica, Technique: Nomarski contrast, 20x Objective Read More

A macrophage (pale brown) interacts with Borrelia cells (blue), the spirochete bacteria that cause Lyme disease. Although the outer membrane of Borrelia contains a strong antigen, the OspC protein, the bacterium successfully evades the human immune system by hiding out in places less accessible ... Read More

Scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, have identified the structure of a critical RSV component called the fusion glycoprotein.

Respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, is a respiratory virus that infects th... Read More

Achnanthes longipes (a diatom, Bacillariophyta) (1000x)

Nikon Small World 2012 PHOTOMICROGRAPHY COMPETITION, IMAGE OF DISTINCTION, Dr. Victor Chepurnov, De Water Architect, Ghent, Belgium Read More

You may notice a green, red or brown film on your favorite boating or swimming area in the summer. This coloring could mean that the water is affected by harmful algal blooms. Harmful algal blooms are an accumulation of tiny organisms known as algae and can release harmful toxins into the enviro... Read More

Trichomonas vaginalis is a protozoan parasite of the urogenital tract in men and women and causes a sexually transmitted disease, trichomoniasis, in about half of infected women. Infections are associated with pelvic inflammatory disease, adverse pregnancy outcomes, infertility, an increased inc... Read More

The in vivo interaction between a Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm, on a silicone implant, and the responding polymorphonuclear leukocytes.
Image: SEM imaging depicts the interaction at day 1 post insertion of the implant in the peritoneal cavity of a mouse. The leukocytes (yellow) are damaged wi... Read More

TEM picture of HEK 293 cells with clatherin coated vesicles Read More