2020 Photomicrography Competition

Microtubules (orange) inside a BPAE cell. Nucleus is shown in cyan.

Jason Kirk

Affiliation
Baylor College of Medicine
Optical Imaging & Vital Microscopy Core
Houston, Texas, USA
Technique
Confocal
Magnification
63X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Jason Kirk, a professional microscopist and director of the Optical Imaging and Vital Microscopy Core facility at Baylor College of Medicine, created this image using a confocal microscope combined with a variation of image scanning microscopy. It was taken primarily to benchmark the performance of the microscope systems within the facility and beautifully shows the radial arrangement of microtubules in bovine pulmonary artery endothelial cells.

Hebe plant anther with pollen

Dr. Robert Markus Zsuzsa Markus

Affiliation
University of Nottingham
School of Life Sciences, Super Resolution Microscopy
Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom
Technique
Confocal
Magnification
10X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Dr. Robert Markus, a super-resolution and confocal microscopy senior imaging technician from the University of Nottingham, took this image of a Hebe plant anther with pollen in order to create awareness of the beauty of the natural world around us and to help showcase the performance of the latest microscope technology. It was captured using the highest numerical aperture lens for low magnification and confocal lasers set to mimic how the subject would look under UV light. It shows in very high detail anther pollen and the cell structures within the plant.

Chameleon embryo (autofluorescence)

Dr. Allan Carrillo-Baltodano David Salamanca

Affiliation
Queen Mary University of London
School of Biological and Chemical Sciences
London, United Kingdom
Technique
Fluorescence
Magnification
10X (Objective Lens Magnification)

This image of a chameleon embryo, taken during the Embryology course at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, highlights the aesthetics and structure of these invertebrates. It was two images with the subject submerged in liquid. Great care was necessary to avoid refraction from the liquid.