Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, discovered a breakthrough imaging method. This method is called quantitative phase imaging, it allows researchers to view live cell membranes and create images of the internal systems of living cells and even their movements without sample pre-processing! Hopefully this newly discovered method will one day enable researchers to develop a greater understanding of diseases such as sickle cell anemia and malaria. Up to this time, the researchers have been able to create images with a resolution of 0.2 nm in normal laboratory conditions with no isolation or stabilization of the laboratory microscope. Though this QPI technique hasn't reached the level of resolution that other microscopes offer, maybe some day it will.

The transmission electron microscope (though not the same as Transmitted Light Microscope) is the first type of electron microscope to be developed and is patterned exactly like the light microscope, but it uses electrons instead of transmitted/reflected light. Electron microscopes can make it possible to view objects as small as the diameter of an atom. Indeed, most electron microscopes used to study biological material can magnify objects up to 1 million times. Though it does not make atoms visible, this method allows researchers to distinguish individual molecules of biological importance. There is a drawback, however, and it's in the sample preparation. Because living specimens must be dehydrated, frozen, or fixated using a negative staining material, this process makes it difficult to see the ever-changing movements that characterize a living cell.

Water is capable to acquire new qualities when recording the information. At the same time its chemical structure stays unchanged. When we say water's structure, we mean the way its molecules are organized. With the help of a regular laboratory microscope we'll be able to see how these molecules gather in groups - clusters. These clusters become the so called memory cells, which are being used by the water to record information on them. It seems that this liquid is like a computer with unlimited memory. There is one researcher, who analyzes water's changers after different influences. He has already tried the radiation of a cell phone and a TV, words of love and rock music. This scientist puts drops of water in special test-tubes and freezes it in the freezer. Then he looks at the snowflakes that were formed through a digital microscope camera. For the past several years he's took more than 10 thousand unique pictures.

The Inventor James Hillier, who helped develop and market the first commercially successful electron microscope in the United States and then found uses for it in medical research, died at age 91. Hillier died Jan. 15 at a Princeton hospital after suffering a stroke. While still a University of Toronto graduate student, James worked with a fellow researcher to advance the work of German scientists to produce a viable electron microscope. Hillier's device magnified objects three times more than existing microscopes, producing an image 7,000 times. He and other scientists found ways to protect samples from burning up by using colloid film and slicing specimens thin enough that electrons could pass through without heating them. By the end of the 1940s, its magnification power had jumped to 200,000 times. Hillier continued working on refinements, and RCA sold about 2,000 electron microscopes between 1940 and the 1960s. He became director of RCA's Princeton research laboratories in 1958, became an executive vice president for research and engineering and was a senior scientist when he retired in 1977. Among the projects he shepherded were lasers, transistors, liquid crystal displays and a forerunner of the DVD. In 1960, Hillier received an Albert Lasker Award for basic medical research, and in 1997 he was decorated with the Order of Canada, among that country's highest honors.

Have you ever heard the word NANOART? Do you know what it means? Here is what I think. NanoArt is a new art discipline related to nanosculptures created by artists, who can appear to be scientists at the same time, with the help of research tools, such as material research microscopes and digital microscopes. It seems to me that Nanoart is the reflection of a technological movement and a good and effective way of informing public of new technologies of 21st century. A high resolution microscope scans microstructures of chemical processing. Then in order to get a NanoArt picture you need to mix a realistic image with some of your abstract colors and use your imagination. And only after that you can finally print the pictures on canvas or fine art paper. And only after this, we can surely say that the earlier scientific prints turned into an artwork. So, when you hear people saying that NanoArt is photography, don’t listen. Most likely that for the 21st Century NanoArt will be what Photography was for the 20th Century! So, enjoy, don’t miss out.

Have you ever looked at the membrane that wraps around our cells through a laboratory microscope? Do you have any idea how it looks like? Well, I know that the membrane is choc-a-bloc full of proteins, but unfortunately we can't see them directly. It happens because the level of detail is too small for our research microscopes to look at, without destroying the cell. Do you think there is a way we can reconstruct the mosaic of proteins that normally stud a membrane? In "Molecular Anatomy of a Trafficking Organelle", Shigeo Takamori and his co-workers studied the synaptic. They learned that the synaptic vesicles are dominated by proteins. Takamori together with his co-workers determined the precise composition of all the proteins that float in the membrane of the synaptic vesicle. With this information, they built this delightful model of a synaptic vesicle.

Celestron, one of the world's leading designer, manufacturer and importer of high-quality Celestron telescopes, binoculars, spotting scopes, microscopes and related accessories, officially announced the availability of SkyTour cards to be used with its award-winning Celestron SkyScout Personal Planetarium. Celestron's Astronomy for Beginners and The Sky Explorer SkyTour cards fit easily into SkyScout's built-in SD slot and take stargazers on a 'real time' interactive cosmic journey of exploration and discovery that includes in-depth information on specific astronomy topics and more than 6,000 viewable celestial objects. Celestron's Astronomy for Beginners SkyTour card uses the SkyScout to guide users through an interactive tour of the night sky with lessons that address an array of astronomical topics including: a detailed tutorial and tour of the planets, stars, galaxies, clusters, nebulae, constellations, and asterisms that are easily viewed in the night sky; a guide to astronomical distances between celestial objects; lessons in star-hopping and navigation; an in-depth look at the colors and types of stars; a study of celestial movement and the phases of the moon.

Scientists from the Wake Forest University together with the researches from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill discovered that the tiny fibers that comprise blood clots are very elastic. On average, they can stretch to almost three times their length, though they still retain their ability to go back to their normal shape. Of course, they found out that with the help of Scientific Microscopes. According to their Microscopic Research this blood clot's ability makes them the most stretchable known fibers existing in nature. This discovery provided researches the opportunity to create more accurate blood clot models. Provide new insights into the wound healing process, according to Microscope Studies and offer a deeper understanding of heart attacks and strokes. Scientists had previously been unable to study the mechanical properties of individual fibrin fibers due to their very small size. But at this time the research team created a device, which connected two microscopes and was able not only to see the fibrin fibers but also stretch them with the help of the atomic force microscope with the help of the Best Microscope Accessories. These study findings have significant implications on human health. Thanks to the Research Microscopes!

Around one of the stars in the Microscope constellation there were discovered new elements with the help of pictures taken by the Hubble Telescope. These magnified under a research microscope elements appear to be ten times bigger than the regular nuggets of protoplanetary disks and somehow resemble fluffy and snowy flakes. This discovery was made by several specialists under the supervision and guidance of James R. Graham from the University of California at Berkley. According to the scientists' information, facts which they provided and the pictures watched under laboratory microscopes, the "flakes" appeared as a result of the collision of some fragments of a "snowball" size. Supposedly these objects are located in the part of the disc called the ring of birth. After the collision, these "snowballs" stay in the ring of birth. As for the small flakes-pieces, they are being thrown away to the disk periphery by the starry wind pressure. At present time science knows many planets and proplanetary disks located around different stars. But the process of evolution of the planetary systems from the dust was still unknown. And this discovery fills the essential gap in the conception of the planet formation. Also, this research helped scientists to learn, that the protoplanetary disk structure is much more complicated, then they thought earlier.

International group of scientists from France, Germany and Canada with the help of a microscope discovered a new type of living creatures in the northern latitudes of Alaska. They were called picobiliphytes. It turned out, that these unusual creatures also represent a new group, called Picobiliphyta. Picobiliphytes are extremely small unicellular seaweed, which diameter is only a few microns. So, the word "pico" in their name means their small size, word "bili" they got from biliproteins, which they contain, and "phytes" because they are plants. The discovery took place due to the laborious analysis of the huge number of DNA consecutions, which belong to the extensive microorganism community, which live in the ocean. One of the consecutions groups appeared to be totally different from all of the rest. Scientists say that these groups are as different as genomes of plants and animals. It shows that some of the gene consecutions found in the seaweed can not be associated with any of the known organism groups. Picobiliphytes discovery is very important for the indepth understanding of the aquatic plants in the Earth ecosystem. Approximately 50% of the all global photosynthesis takes place in the world ocean. It's provided by the seaweed - phytoplankton. Scientists assume that 90% varieties of this plankton are still unknown.

I know that we haven't been able to see snow for the last several weeks, but still I was hoping and dreaming that before winter is over we would get at least a very little chance. And it happened today!! Let's take pictures of snowflakes together! One of the biggest difficulties in taking a picture of a snowflake, is that the ice crystal melts very fast, especially when put on the glass under a microscope. It melts fast and loses its shape even when it's extremely cold. So, in order to get a very good picture of a snowflake you need to catch it on the gauze or for example on the piece of kapron material, which is strained on the frame. It's easier to take pictures in the macro filming regime, with the x8 magnification. Then a snowflake which is only 3-4 millimeters in size will become 2.5-5 centimeters on your photo. Try it out yourself! Good luck!!!

Trypanosomes can accurately distinguish cancer cells from normal ones. Scientists were watching cells and trypanosomes under a microscope. They saw how trypanosomes were moving towards cancer cells, then made a circle and tried to attack it. Most likely they react on receptor molecules on the cancer cells' surface. Now scientists are working with nine different clones of Trypanosoma Cruzi, which are genetically different. All of them together with adenocarcinoma had been tested on mice. Course of treatment consisted of 12 daily injections. Medication suppressed the cancroid growth if its dose contained 15 millions of desolated trypanosomes. The mice cancroid size reduced by three times. So, hopefully very soon we'll able to witness the time, when scientists inform us about the found cancer treatment.

DNA of Neanderthal man
In 2006 two groups of scientists announced that they decoded the consecution (order) of the long DNA sections, which were taken out from the Neanderthal man's bone. This kindred branch separated from our ancestors about 450 thousands of years ago.
Ice melting
Two biggest icecaps in the world, in Greenland and Antarctic, start melting faster than they used to. Air laser measurement research and space radar map-making are the evidence of this fact.
Four-legged fish
Petrifaction (fossil) which is 375 million years old represents the remnants of half-fish-half-amphibian. According to all the facts, this is one of the missing links in the process of transition of the vertebrates from water to the dry land. Front extremities of the Tiktaalik fish had middle carpal and elbow joints.
Invisible raincoat
Physics inform that they invented a camouflage coat, which allows a person to disappear. It allows hiding only from micro wave radiation and creates unusual effect of 'transparency'.
Treatment from blindness
Published in October research informs that Ranibizumab medicine improves the vision of about the third part of patients with serious form of age-specific dystrophy of the macula lutea (yellow spot) and the rest of the patients feel better as well. This year the medicine was approved in the USA.
The look inside the cell
This year biologists had a chance with the help of a Gemology Microscopes to peep into the inner work of a cell and albumen. The scientists broke down barrier, which was created by the length of light wave.
Memory molecules
Several researches which took place in 2006, show that remembrance forms up because of the process, which strengthens connections between separate nerve cells. This process helps us to remember events of our past.
Interaction of RNA
Scientists confirm the idea that genes are being controlled by small RNA molecules, which are near of kin to the DNA. A new type of DNA molecules was discovered which are able to interact with genes, possibly they are responsible for gametal cell development.

It could be very true that very soon we'll have a chance to hear the voices of the famous people of the past, such as Abraham Lincoln and Queen Victoria. The speech/presentations of the heads of states, famous writers, poets and musicians of the past had been reordered on the wax and tin sound carriers. But now, they are so old and worn-out, that even with the help of modern techniques, it's almost impossible to listen to then. However, two scientists in the laboratory of the Berkley University in California have been testing a new device, which will be able to reanimate the old recordings. They scan sound tracks with the help of a microscope, and their image reflects as corresponding electrical signals, which are being transformed into a sound by a computer. At first, these two scientists were able to draw out the pure sound from the old gramophone records of 1950's. They were so lucky, that could clean all sound tracks' distortions and damages. The advantage of this technology is that the scientists only "watch" recordings, they neither touch nor play it. This system works like copier. The most part of the wax gramophone recordings was damaged due to bad storage conditions. But the scientists still don't give up and hope to be able to read the information from these recordings and hear the voices from the past. They say that there are voices of queen Victoria, poets, actresses and actors and many more famous people. According to some information, during the Civil War in the United States in 1863 former American president Abraham Lincoln was recorded on the phonograph.

Grey Hair is no more than the result of the weakening in the work of the dermal papilla of a hair. In fact, it's the so called plant, which produces and delivers all vitally important substances. Protein synthesis is going down as well as amino acids and nutrients matriculation. Due to all this, cells, which produce hair pigment, suffer a lot. And the hair color disappears. As a result, in stead of saving up the pigment, it saves air. That’s why hair turns grey. If you look at this hair under a educational microscope, you'll see that it reminds a tube with balloons, filled with air. It's well known that nothing can turn this process back. Maximum that can be done is change a little the color of hair. Nevertheless, according the statistics, about 30% of these cases can be prevented. Most of them happen due to stress factors, so fighting stress you fight the grey hair. You need to eat well, live happy and active life, wear warm hat at winter (this will help the head's skin microcirculation).