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Image Contest 2025- BINA 2025 Light Microscopy Image Contest

We are so thankful for all our 2025 Image Contest Contributors!!!

The Top three images are:

Hexagonal Vision: Compound Eye and Sensory Crown – Frederic Bonnet
Allergy Season – Nat Prunet
Blue, Red and Fish – Arlen Ramírez Corona

The People’s Choice Award is: Dentritic constellation – Mahgol Darvishmolla

Honorable Mentions (alpha order)

Textures of a Skeleton Shrimp – Caroline Hoppe
Mouse Kidney Disco – Chetan Poudel
The Kidney Landscape** – Meriam Shabbar

View past submissions and winners here!

Hexagonal Vision: Compound Eye and Sensory Crown– Frederic Bonnet

Blue, Red and Fish- Arlen Ramírez Corona

Dentritic constellation– Mahgol Darvishmolla

Textures of a Skeleton Shrimp– Caroline Hoppe

Cortical Organoid in a Bioactive Scaffold– Oscar Carballo-Molina

Cobblestone pathway – Team: Mariana De Niz, Jocelyn Salvador, Luisa Iruela-Arispe

A Starburst of Cellular Life– Sooraj Siini

Mushroombody Neuroblasts: Ribosomal Powerhouses of the Fly Brain– Kranti Meher

When too much is too much (power)! – Martina Giampetraglia

Snapshot of Cells Working to Heal A Wound- Ji Hong Sayo

Image is buffering– Anastasiya Klebanovych

From soma to synapse, the neuronal ER is everywhere!– Cameron Paton

Drosophila melanogaster heart tube development– Rafael Perez Vicente

The Grasp of a Skeleton Shrimp– Caroline Hoppe

Crystallised B-alanine & l-Glutamine– Tian Olivier

Crystallised B-Alanine and L-Glutamine– Tian Olivier

two-week-old larval sea anemone, Nematostella vectensis– Michael Shribak and Karen Echeverri

spider (Eriophora transmarina) silk – Michael Shribak

Neurons replicated…the University of Montreal logo in vitro!– Aurelie Stil

Sighting a racehorse– Team: Mariana De Niz, Jocelyn Salvador, Luisa Iruela-Arispe

Fluorescent Flight: Parasitic Wasp in Pink Spectrum– Frederic Bonnet

Emerald Architecture: Beetle’s Ventral Symphony– Frederic Bonnet

More than meets the eye: Actin in the zebrafish eye region- Caroline Hoppe, Valerie Tornini

Harmonic Waves– Team: Mariana De Niz, Dina Arvanitis, Jocelyn Salvador, Luisa Iruela-Arispe

Murine Hair Follicles– Adrian Kwiatkowski

The hidden neighborhood in skin–Adrian Kwiatkowski

Regressing Hair Follicles in Murine Skin– Adrian Kwiatkowski

Where Cells Meet: The Lens Anterior Suture– Sepideh Cheheltani

Hexagonal Vision: Compound Eye and Sensory Crown– Frederic Bonnet

Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory
MDIBL Light Microscopy Facility

The image presents a mesmerizing view of a nocturnal butterfly compound eye, where thousands of hexagonal ommatidia create a crystalline mosaic in brilliant cyan. The eye is framed by a crown of sensory bristles that appear in vibrant purples and greens, revealing the intricate sensory apparatus that surrounds this remarkable visual organ.

Sample: nocturnal butterfly

Label: Auto fluorescence imaged with 405,488,568 and 647nm laser lines

Instrument: Nikon Ti-E Nikon C2+ with Plan Apo λ 10x/061NA

Scale: 1252X1252 microns

Image or sample processing steps: Maximum intensity projection generated from a Z-stack comprising 225 optical sections captured at 3μm intervals. Images were denoised using Nikon Denoise.AI and subsequently processed in FIJI and Adobe Photoshop.

Allergy season– Nat Prunet

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

In spring, a thin yellow layer of pollen covers everything and for many people causes allergies. But under the microscope, pollen grains exhibit great beauty and diversity

Sample: Mixed pollen grains, autofluorescence

Label: N/A (red autofluorescence)

Instrument: Zeiss LSM 980 with Airyscan 2, Airyscan SR mode with joint deconvolution, 63x/1.4 objective)

Scale: 350 micrometers x 350 micrometers

Image or sample processing steps: This is composed for maximum intensity projections of mixed pollen grains imaged separately and color-coded for depth

Blue, Red and Fish- Arlen Ramírez Corona

Instituto de Biotecnología, UNAM

The image shows a 5 day zebrafish larva with its muscles coloured in red and the nuclei of its cells colured in cyan.

Sample: Confocal image of a 5 day zebrafish larva

Label: Actin cytoskeleton was labeled with Alexa488-phalloidin and DNA was labeled with DAPI

Instrument: Olympus FV1000 Inverted confocal microscope with Objective Lens UPLSAPO 10X NA:0.40

Scale: 3.5mm x 1.3mm

Image or sample processing steps: This is a maximum projection image created from a z-stack of the whole larva. Optical sections were aquired with a z-step of 8 micronsThe image shows both colour channels merged. The larva was imaged in three sections and the images were stitched together using the Stitching plugin in FIJI. Project supported by UNAM-PAPIIT IN227223

Dentritic constellation– Mahgol Darvishmolla

Concordia University

This image captures a medium spiny neuron, the most abundant cell type in the striatum, a brain region essential for movement and motivated behaviors. The glowing soma forms a brilliant core, while dendrites radiate outward in delicate, branching patterns reminiscent of a constellation in the night sky. Along these branches, tiny dendritic spines, sites of synaptic input where the neuron receives communication from thousands of other neurons from various kinds, sparkle like distant stars. This image is both a scientific glimpse into neural connectivity and an artistic portrait of the brain’s hidden cosmos.

Sample: This is a medium spiny neuron from the dorsomedial striatum, filled with biocytin during whole-cell patch-clamp recording. After recording, the brain slice was fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde for 24 hours and then stored in sodium azide–PBS solution. The biocytin-filled neuron was visualized using Alexa Fluor 568, and the slice was finally mounted on a slide with antifade medium to preserve fluorescence and structural detail.

Label: Biocytine filled medium spiny neuron detected with Alexa Fluor 568.

Instrument: Zeiss axio observer Cicero spinning disk.

Scale: This image represents 2048×2048 um

Image or sample processing steps: This is the maximum projection of intensities from 183 z-stacks that was 300 um thick, with 1.6 um initial sectioning.

Textures of a Skeleton Shrimp– Caroline Hoppe

Yale University

This image presents a male skeleton shrimp (Caprellidae) collected from Eel Pond at the Marine Biological Laboratory. Its elongated frame is covered in fine hairs and sharp spikes. Upon closer inspection, the shrimp’s body seems to host several planarian flatworms that cling to its surface.

Sample: A male skeleton shrimp (Caprellidae) was collected from Eel Pond at the MBL, fixed in 4% PFA and mounted in PBS on a glass-bottom dish.

Label: Autofluorescence captured with a WLL at 500 nm

Instrument: A tiled image was acquired using an inverted Leica Stellaris microscope with a 10×/0.4 NA dry objective as a 16-bit image.

Scale: 11063.65 x 5236.37 (µm) (9736×4608 pixel)

Image or sample processing steps: A maximum intensity projection from a Z-stack (822.6 µm total depth, 2.4 µm step size) is shown. The image was adjusted for brightness and contrast in FIJI, with a gamma of 0.5 applied to highlight finer hairs and details. The image was false colored using the KTZ_bw_Div_orange LUT.

Mouse Kidney Disco- Chetan Poudel

Indiana University School of Medicine

3D image of a mouse kidney with blood vessels and glomeruli lit up with a CD31 antibody. The color represents depth in this 3D image (blue is top and red is bottom).

Sample: Mouse kidney, Tetrahydrofuran and Ethyl cinnamate clearing

Label: Vasculature and glomeruli labeled with Alexa647-CD31 antibody

Instrument:Custom-built open-top lightsheet (OTLS) microscope, Roughly mag 25X, 0.40NA

Scale: 9 mm X 5.5 mm

Image or sample processing steps: Depth color coded maximum projection from a z-stack of 550 micron thickness obtained using the Zstack DepthColorCode plugin. A simple thresholding was applied to remove the background, without any specific segmentation.

The Kidney Landscape– Meriam Shabbar

University of South Australia

This immunofluorescent image captures the striking cellular architecture of a diseased mouse kidney, showing large cysts and dilated tubules, offering both scientific insight and visual impact.

Sample: Mouse, Kidney tissues, IF staining

Label: Three fluorescent dyes: Nuclei in blue (DAPI), cortical collecting ducts in red (rhodamine-labelled DBA) and proximal and distal tubules in green (AlexaFluor-488)

Instrument: Ziess Axioscan 7 digital slide scanner, 20X objective

Scale: This image represents 5 mm x 8 mm

Image or sample processing steps: A full kidney section was imaged; no image segmentation was performed. The image contrast and brightness were adjusted using the Photos editing tool.

Fish on the Brain- Hannah Somers

Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory
MDIBL Light Microscopy Facility

A beautiful zebrafish brain blood vessels.

Sample: Adult Zebrafish, perfused to demonstrate vasculature, cleared using the Deep Clear method.

Label: Dextran perfusion

Instrument: MesoSPIM, 4x objective 0.35 NA

Scale: 20×10 mm

Image or sample processing steps: It is a max projection of a z-stack taken, (1200 um thick).

Cortical Organoid in a Bioactive Scaffold– Oscar Carballo-Molina

Northwestern University

Interaction of Organoid and Bioactive Scaffold

Sample: Human Cortical Organoid

Label: Tubulin B3 – Alexa568, Hoechst, Anti-GFP-Alexa488

Instrument: AXR Confocal

Scale: 2500um x 2500um

Image or sample processing steps: maximum projection of 600um z-stack, the image is view through the Imaris Software

Brain time– Ian Davis

Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory
MDIBL Light Microscopy Facility

Larval brain with type 2 lineages

Sample: Drosphila

Label: NA

Instrument: Ziess Apotome

Scale: 750um x 500um

Image or sample processing steps: basic brightness correction in FIJI

Forest of Memory- Philipp Velicky

Medical University of Vienna

Crisp and detail-rich yet quietly mysterious, this image shows glowing nerve cells branching into a tree-like forest, where countless tiny spines along each branch hint at the hidden wiring our brains use to form memories.

Sample: organotypic hippocampal slice culture, mouse

Label: Thy1-EGFP

Instrument: Abberior (Expert Line), Olympus 100x silicone oil objective, NA 1.35

Scale: 170 x 170 µm (3×3 tiles, 60×60 µm each with overlap)

Image or sample processing steps: maximum intensity projection, ImageJ LUT “Tokyo”

Cobblestone pathway – Team: Mariana De Niz, Jocelyn Salvador, Luisa Iruela-Arispe

Northwestern University

This image that resembles a cobblestone path was taken with a SoRa microscope on a mouse aorta, where we study the blood vascular endothelium. Phalloidin stains the actin cytoskeleton of all cells, including the smooth muscle above the endothelial cells. Because the tissue is wavy, it is possible to get a glimpse of the vascular endothelium even though the majority of the image shows the smooth muscle above.

Sample: Mouse aorta

Label: Endothelial cell nuclei labeled with A647-ERG, all cell nuclei labeled with DAPI, actin cytoskeleton labeled with A488-phalloidin, and cell adhesion molecule/cell borders labeled with A568-PECAM1.

Instrument: Nikon SoRa using a 40x silicon oil objective with a NA of 1.25. The SoRa magnifier of 2.8x was used.

Scale: This image is 248 X 248 um (2304 x 2304 pixels)

Image or sample processing steps: This is a maximum projection intensity from a z-stack 4.9 um thick, with a 0.1um step size. The image was denoised using Nikon’s denoise.ai proprietary software. The image was deconvolved using the Richardson Lucy algorithm. Last, for artistic impression, different LUTs were used to represent the various structures.

A Starburst of Cellular Life– Sooraj Siini

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi, India

Bathed in fluorescent light, a stem cell reveals its inner architecture, glowing filaments form a delicate scaffold, vibrant mitochondria spark with energy, and the nucleus shines as the cell’s guiding star

Sample: Mouse mesenchymal stem cell cultured on coverslip, fixed and imaged using confocal microscopy.

Label: “Actin cytoskeleton — Alexa Fluor 488 Phalloidin (green)

Mitochondria — MitoTracker RedCMXRos(red)

Nucleus — DAPI (blue)”

Instrument: Nikon AX Confocal Microscope, 60× oil immersion objective (NA 1.4).

Scale: 195 µm × 195 µm

Image or sample processing steps: This image is a maximum intensity projection of a confocal z-stack (0.1 µm optical sections, ~10 µm total thickness). Channels were pseudo-colored (actin–green, mitochondria–red, nucleus–blue) and brightness/contrast linearly adjusted in FIJI. No further filtering or deconvolution was applied.

diatom –Jose Manuel Martinez Lopez

Química Tech

I didn’t seek a scientific purpose in this sample; I was trying to grow crystals of the salt water and the picric acid on the “arms” of this diatome and observe them in polarized light (like a sphere in a Christmas tree). It didn’t work, so I decided to make the image monochromatic.

Sample: Chaetoceros

Label: N/A

Instrument: Axio Zoom V.16, Objetive Apo Z 1.5x Zoom 11.2

Scale: 803 x 670 micrometers

Image or sample processing steps: The sample was collected at San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico, and preserved in Bouin solution. No additional preparation was made. The sample is observed in reflected light, bright field.

Mushroombody Neuroblasts: Ribosomal Powerhouses of the Fly Brain– Kranti Meher

Louisiana State University

Mushroombody Neuroblasts:Ribosomal Powerhouses of the Fly Brain

Sample: Drosophila first instar larval brain fixed and immunolabled with anti-RpL34 using stanadard imuunolabeling protocol

Label: Ribosomes labeled using an antibody against RpL34 (Alexa546), also co-labled with anti-deadpan (Alexa488)

Instrument: Leica SP8, 63X (water)

Scale: 10um

Image or sample processing steps: this is a maximum projection of intensities from a z-stack that was 5 um thick, with 0.4 um initial sectioning; the image was segmented and skeletonized in FIJI

Frozen in Motion– Caroline Hoppe

Yale University

This image captures the rotation of Volvox, a spherical colony of microscopic cells found in freshwater. The swirling patterns represent its spinning motion, with a color gradient indicating the passage of time—where science and art meet at the microscopic scale.

Sample: Volvox in freshwater, free-floating in a glass-bottom dish

Label: Colonial green alga fluorescence and Autofluorescence

Instrument: Leica DMi8 inverted widefield microscope with a HC PL FLUOTAR 10x / 0.32 DRY objective

Scale: This image represents 822 x 822 pixels, 533 x 533 um

Image or sample processing steps: A time series of 120 frames was acquired at a single z-plane with a 46.16 ms exposure of a spinning Volvox. The image series was Lightning-enhanced and then drift-corrected in FIJI. Shown is a temporal color projection using the Phase Bold Ink Mint Cherry LUT.

When too much is too much (power)! – Martina Giampetraglia

University of Tuebingen

Sometimes we need to push to limits to really achieve our goals. In our job we are demanded to do so over and over again but we often forget the importance of our mental health and personal life. We risk to completely burn out.
In this image, during an experiment for targeted laser ablation, the power used on the skin sample was too high and we obtained literally an explosion of the collagen and surrounding structures. Sometimes too much is too much and we need to be aware of that!

Sample: Multiphoton image of ex vivo skin laser ablation

Label: Td-tomato cells, SHG, THG

Instrument: LaVision Biotech TrimScope II

Scale: 350 x 350 um

Image or sample processing steps: Maximum projection of a 5 um step z stack

Snapshot of Cells Working to Heal A Wound- Ji Hong Sayo

University of Toronto

After being damaged by a high-power UV laser, cells in a fruit fly egg chamber restructure themselves and migrate to close the wound. This image is a snapshot of the process at a single time point, reconstructed to show 3D structure.

Sample: Drosophila Melanogaster egg chamber, live imaging in an ex-vivo culture

Label: Actin labeled with a utrophin ABD:GFP, e-cadherin endogenously labelled with tdTomato. Marker expression in living cells allowed for continuous live imaging.

Instrument: Andor Technologies Revolution XD spinning disk confocal, 60x oil immersion lens.

Scale: This image represents 138 µm x 138 µm x 15.5 µm

Image or sample processing steps: This is a three-dimensional reconstruction of 31 confocal slices of the sample, created using Microscopy Nodes in Blender.

Image is buffering– Anastasiya Klebanovych

Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
Advanced Bioimaging Laboratory

A biological staple, phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), can form salt precipitates when stored in concentrated form (5X, 10X) at freezing temperatures.

Sample: Phosphate-buffered saline crystals

Label: N/A

Instrument: Nikon Eclipse NI-E upright widefield epifluorescence microscope, objective Nikon Plan Apo 10X/NA 0.45.

Scale: 3.966 mm x 3.743 mm

Image or sample processing steps: Tile scan acquired with manual XY stage, darkfield contrast method, 8 bit RGB camera, single plane.

From soma to synapse, the neuronal ER is everywhere!– Cameron Paton

Dartmouth College

Cultured Rat Hippocampal Neuron expressing mNeonGreen localized to the endoplasmic reticulum lumen, revealing a continuous ER network that spans the entire cell, extending into distal processes and presynaptic boutons.

Sample: Primary Rat Hippocampal Neurons

Label: ER lumen-localized mNeonGreen

Instrument: Nikon W1 spinning disk confocal microscope

Scale: 219.85 um x 219.85 um

Image or sample processing steps: This is a maximum projection from a cultured hippocampal neuron expressing ER-mNeonGreen. The z-stack was aquired with a 60x oil objective (NA = 1.42) that was 13.4 um thick, with 0.2 um sectioning. The image was adjusted with 0.5 gamma correction to for better visualization of differences in expression between soma and processes. Inverted Grays lookup table was used for better contrast.

Drosophila melanogaster heart tube development– Rafael Perez Vicente

University of Toronto

Stage 14 Drosophila melanogaster embryo stained to mark RhoGEF2 and Pericardin on green and red.

Sample: Fix and stain, Drosophila melanogaster

Label: Alexa568 for Pericardin and Alexa488 for RhoGEF2, DAPI for nuclei

Instrument: Olympus FV3000 Confocal Microscope at 60x magnification

Scale: 636.40um x 636.40um

Image or sample processing steps: Overlay of 3 different channels and contrast correction in FIJI

Type two to tango– Travis D. Carney**

Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory
MDIBL Light Microscopy Facility

This is the central nervous system of a fruit fly larva, comprising two round brain lobes and a ventral nerve cord. Different types of neural stem cells and their progeny are shown in red and cyan; a protein called Dachshund is in yellow, marking a subset of the neuronal nuclei; and in blue is a DNA stain, which serves to mark all nuclei in the organ and provide a general outline.

Sample: Drosophila larval central nervous system, mounted in Vectashield

Label: DAPI marks DNA (blue); type II neural stem cell lineages (red) are marked with RFP under the control of worniu-Gal4 asense-Gal80, stained with anti-RFP and an Alexa-568-conjugated secondary antibody; type I neural stem cell lineages (cyan) are marked with GFP under the control of GMR20B05-lexA and stained with anti-GFP and an Alexa-488-conjugated secondary antibody; a subset of neuronal nuclei are marked with anti-Dachshund (yellow) and an Alexa-647-conjugated secondary antibody.

Instrument: Spinning disk confocal microscope (Nikon Ti-E Andor CSU-W1); CFI Plan Apochromat Lambda 20x/NA 0.75 objective.

Scale: ~450 x 530 microns

Image or sample processing steps: This is a partial maximum-intensity z-projection through the CNS. The focal planes included were chosen to illustrate the different positions of the different neural stem cell lineages (red & cyan), as well as for aesthetics. Image processed using FIJI.

Bal Masque– Travis D. Carney**

Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory
MDIBL Light Microscopy Facility

Shown here are the two lobes of a fruit fly larval brain. Neural stem cells and the neurons they have generated are marked, including the axons that project into the brain, which look like wires projecting radially. The very bright flare in the center of each lobe is part of a brain structure called the mushroom body, which is a learning and memory center in flies.

Sample: Drosophila larval brain, mounted in Vectashield

Label: Neural stem cells and their neuronal progeny are marked with membrane-bound GFP under the control of the neural stem cell driver, worniu-Gal4.

Instrument: Zeiss LSM 980 with a Plan-Apochromat 20x/NA 0.8 objective

Scale: Approximately 300 microns wide

Image or sample processing steps: A color-coded projection was performed of a z-series through about the top half of the brain, then this was compressed to 2D as a maximum-intensity projection.

The Grasp of a Skeleton Shrimp– Caroline Hoppe

Yale University

This black-and-white image captures the upper body region of a male skeleton shrimp (Caprellidae), collected from Eel Pond at the Marine Biological Laboratory. Its elongated body is adorned with fine surface details—tiny spikes and hair-like structures that give it a ghostly, almost sculptural presence. Upon closer inspection, the shrimp’s body seems to host several planarian flatworms that cling to its surface.

Sample: A male skeleton shrimp (Caprellidae) was collected from Eel Pond at the MBL, fixed in 4% PFA and mounted in PBS on a glass-bottom dish

Label: Autofluorescence captured with a WLL at 500 nm

Instrument: A tiled image was acquired using an inverted Leica Stellaris microscope with a 10×/0.4 NA dry objective as a 16-bit image.

Scale: 6463.64 x 4315.91 um (5688×3798 pixel)

Pathways of Possibility– Julien Cicero

UCSD

In neurodegenerative disease research, patient skin cells are reprogrammed into stem cells and used to grow neurons for study. This image shows motor neurons extending delicate, branching axons from a central ganglion. The intricate, radiant network underscores the complexity of human biology and symbolizes the hope that science offers in restoring movement and health.

Sample: iPSC-derived motor neuron

Label: Calcein-AM

Instrument: LSM 980 – Objective 10X

Scale: 0.75 cm x 0.75 cm

Image or sample processing steps: tile-scan 3×3

Crystallised B-alanine & l-Glutamine– Tian Olivier

Crystals formed by mixing amino acids with water & Vodka viewed under polarized light microscopy reveal intricate, feather-like patterns in vivid blues, golds, and greens. These building blocks of proteins self-assemble into striking natural structures, showing that even the smallest molecules of life can create breathtaking art.

Sample: crystallised amino acids

Label: n/a

Instrument: Home made cross polarized microscope with Nikon 20x LWD objective

Scale: 3.4mmx2.7mm

Image or sample processing steps: XPL, thin cellophane wrap retarder, single photo, post process in Zoner Photo studio.

Crystallised B-Alanine and L-Glutamine– Tian Olivier

A mixture of amino acids, water and Vodka viewed under polarized light microscopy reveal intricate, patterns in vivid colours. These building blocks of proteins self-assemble into striking natural structures, reminding us that even the smallest molecules of life can create beautiful art.

Sample: crystals

Label: n/a

Instrument: Home made cross polarized microscope with a Nikon 10x objective

Scale: 8.8mmx7mm

Image or sample processing steps: cross polarized, cellophane wrap retarder, single photo, edited with Zoner Photo studio

Festivus– Travis D. Carney**

Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory
MDIBL Light Microscopy Facility

This image shows a portion of a fruit fly testis. The image depicts the development of the germ cells, shown in cyan, as they develop into sperm. The large cells on the right of the image are spermatocytes in clusters of 16 cells. Each of these cells undergoes two rounds of meiosis to form 64-cell clusters, now much smaller in size, and progresses down the testis in a clockwise fashion. Next, these cells begin to elongate as sperm tails form. The protein shown in cyan (Vasa) reduces in abundance and disappears as the tails elongate, visible as the progressively weaker stain. In red is a cell adhesion molecule, Fas3, which marks an epithelium at the base of the testes, near where sperm complete their maturation. DNA is marked in green and marks all cells’ nuclei. The large, bright spots of green are clusters of 64 sperm nuclei that gather at the base of the testis.

Sample: Drosophila testis, mounted in Vectashield

Label: Germ cells (cyan) are labeled with a polyclonal antibody against the RNA-binding protein Vasa and an Alexa-488-conjugated secondary antibody; the cell adhesion molecule Fasciclin3 (red) is stained with anti-Fas3 and an Alexa-568-conjugated secondary antibody; DNA is stained with DAPI (green).

Instrument: Zeiss LSM 980 with a Plan-Apochromat 20x/NA 0.8 objective.

Scale: About 500 microns x 500 microns

Image or sample processing steps: Image depicts a single focal plane from a z-stack

Amino Acid crystals– Tian Olivier

Mixing B-Alanine & L-Glutamine with water and Vodka creates delicate crystals when allowed to dry at 50C. When viewed under polarized light microscopy they reveal intricate, feather-like patterns in vivid blues, golds, and greens. These building blocks of proteins self-assemble into striking natural structures, reminding us that even the smallest molecules of life can create breathtaking art.

Sample: crystals

Label: n/a

Instrument: Home made cross polarized light microscope with Nikon 40x objective

Scale: 1.8mmx1.4mm

Image or sample processing steps: cross polarized light, thin cellophane wrap retarder, single photo, Zoner Photo studio for editing.

filtration ball– Caramai Kamei

Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory
MDIBL Light Microscopy Facility

This image highlights the finely interdigitated foot processes of the glomerular podocytes in the kidney which form the filtration barrier preventing loss of proteins from the blood.

Sample: adult zebrafish PFA fixed kidney

Label: F-actin labeled with AlexaFluor594-phalloidin, podocytes labeled with AlexaFluor488 Tg(pod:gal4, UAS:gcamp3) immunofluorescence

Instrument: Zeiss LSM980 with Airy Scan 2, 63x/1.4 oil

Scale: 50 x 50 x 25 microns

Image or sample processing steps: Stained kidney was mounted in 50% PBS/glycerol on 1 coverslip high bridge slide with a #1.5 coverslip glued down with krazy glue over it. Maximum intensity projection made in FIJI from 25 micron z-stack showing 1 half of a glomerulus taken at 1.7x with optimal interval and super resolution mode. Final image cropped in photoshop.

tree trunk- Caramai Kamei

Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory
MDIBL Light Microscopy Facility

This image is centered on the aorta running through the kidney with blood vessels connecting to glomeruli that hang like fruits on a tree.

Sample: adult zebrafish PFA fixed kidney

Label: F-actin labeled with AlexaFluor594-phalloidin, podocytes labeled with AlexaFluor488 Tg(pod:gal4, UAS:gcamp3) immunofluorescence

Instrument: Zeiss LSM980 with Airy Scan 2, 10x/0.45

Scale: 500 x 300 x 50 microns

Image or sample processing steps: Stained kidney was mounted in 50% PBS/glycerol on 1 coverslip high bridge slide with a #1.5 coverslip glued down with krazy glue over it. Maximum intensity projection made in FIJI from a 40 slice z-stack taken at 1.7x with optimal interval and super resolution mode and brightness of magenta channel increased. Final image cropped and flipped in photoshop.

feelers– Caramai Kamei

Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory
MDIBL Light Microscopy Facility

The invading distal end of a new nephron formed after kidney injury feels its way in to the existing tubule using invasive lamellopodia.

Sample: adult zebrafish PFA fixed kidney

Label: F-actin labeled with AlexaFluor594-phalloidin, distal end of invading new nephron after injury labeled with AlexaFluor488 Tg(lhx1a:gfp) immunofluorescence

Instrument: Zeiss LSM980 with Airy Scan 2, 63x/1.4 oil

Scale: 50 x 50 x 40 microns

Image or sample processing steps: Stained kidney was mounted in 50% PBS/glycerol on 1 coverslip high bridge slide with a #1.5 coverslip glued down with krazy glue over it. Maximum intensity projection made in FIJI from z-stack taken at 1.7x with optimal interval and super resolution mode. Final image cropped in photoshop.

two-week-old larval sea anemone, Nematostella vectensis– Michael Shribak and Karen Echeverri

Marine Biological Laboratory

Credit: Michael Shribak and Karen Echeverri

The image shows a two-week-old larval sea anemone, Nematostella vectensis. This local species, found in Sippewissett Marsh, is an important subject for MBL scientists studying development and regeneration.
The picture was taken using a polychromatic polarizing microscope, a label-free imaging technique invented at MBL. This method allows researchers to capture live images where the colors show the molecular orientation in the organism. The larval anemone in the image is about 0.6 mm in size.

Sample: Nematostella vectensis

Label: N/A

Instrument: Olympus IX83, 10x objective lens

Scale: 1.1 mm x 0.7 mm

Image or sample processing steps: N/A

Diatom Surirella gemma- Michael Shribak

Marine Biological Laboratory

Polychromatic polarizing microscope image of diatom Surirella gemma.. The innovative polychromatic technique directly maps slow axis orientation to color hue. The snapshot image was acquired using white light illumination (halogen lamp) and a color camera. The picture shows real colors, as it is seen by naked eye.

Sample: diatom

Label: N/A

Instrument: Olympus IX83, 40x

Scale: 233 µm x 158 µm

Image or sample processing steps: N/A

spider (Eriophora transmarina) silk – Michael Shribak

Marine Biological Laboratory

This striking, real-color image captures the spider silk of Eriophora transmarina using a cutting-edge polychromatic polarizing microscope.
Spider silk is a remarkable example of birefringence and molecular organization, featuring a high crystallinity of roughly 80%. The vibrant colors aren’t artificial; they’re produced by the innovative polychromatic technique, which translates the silk’s molecular orientation—specifically its slow axis orientation—directly into color hue. As the silk changes its orientation, its color shifts, creating this map of its internal structure. The image was acquired using white light illumination and a color camera.

Sample: tissue

Label: N/A

Instrument: Olympus IX83, 20x

Scale: 400 µm x 265 µm

Image or sample processing steps: live image, no processing

Neurons replicated…the University of Montreal logo in vitro!– Aurelie Stil

University of Montreal – School of Optometry

For research purposes, neurons can grow on glass coverslip in vitro, but they need a substrate. Here, one of their favorite substrates, called poly-D-lysine (PDL), was specifically deposited on the coverslip to create a pattern. The neurons adhered only to the part of the glass covered with PDL. They grew, formed dense networks and thus faithfully replicated the University of Montreal logo in vitro! Around, cells devoid of substrate did not adhere to the surface, grouped together in clusters, did not grow properly and appeared as small dots in the background. The result demonstrates the importance of the substrate for neuronal adhesion and maturation in vitro!

Sample: Culture of primary neurons from mouse embryos.

Label: Cytoskeleton labeled with mouse anti-microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2) primary antibody + Alexa 488-conjugated secondary antibody (in blue) and nuclei stained with Hoechst33258 (in red).

Instrument: Evident Fluoview FV3000 confocal microscope; Objective lens: UPLSAPO 4x / 0,16 with 2x numerical zoom.

Scale: 22 mm X 16 mm

Image or sample processing steps: “Primary neurons were plated on glass coverslip, treated according to the method published in the journal Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience (Stil et al., 2023). Here, the substrate, called poly-D-lysine (PDL), was specifically deposited on the coverslip to create a pattern. Neurons adhered only to the part of the glass covered with PDL. They formed dense networks, highlighted with MAP2 staining. Thus, neurons faithfully replicated the University of Montreal logo in vitro! Around, cells devoid of substrate did not adhere to the surface, grouped together in clusters, their maturation was compromised and they appeared as small dots in the background. The result demonstrates the importance of the substrate for neuronal adhesion and maturation in vitro!
Individual images were automatically acquired and stitched with the MAP tool in Fluoview. Picture show the entire logo (z-stack projection).”

Neurons replicated…the University of Montreal logo in vitro!– Aurelie Stil

University of Montreal – School of Optometry

For research purposes, neurons can be plated on glass coverslip in vitro, but they need a substrate. Here, one of their favorite substrates, called poly-D-lysine (PDL), was specifically deposited on the coverslip to create a pattern. The neurons adhered only to the part of the glass covered with PDL. They grew, formed dense networks and thus faithfully replicated the University of Montreal logo in vitro! Around, cells devoid of substrate did not adhere to the surface, grouped together in clusters, did not grow properly and appeared as small dots in the background. The result demonstrates the importance of the substrate for neuronal adhesion and maturation in vitro!

Sample: Culture of primary neurons from mouse embryos.

Label: Cytoskeleton labeled with mouse anti-microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2) primary antibody + Alexa 488-conjugated secondary antibody (in blue) and nuclei stained with Hoechst33258 (in red).

Instrument: Evident Fluoview FV3000 confocal microscope; Objective lens: UPLSAPO 4x / 0,16 with 2x numerical zoom.

Scale: 22 mm X 16 mm

Image or sample processing steps: “Primary neurons were plated on glass coverslip, treated according to the method published in the journal Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience (Stil et al., 2023). Here, the substrate, called poly-D-lysine (PDL), was specifically deposited on the coverslip to create a pattern. Neurons adhered only to the part of the glass covered with PDL. They formed dense networks, highlighted with MAP2 staining. Thus, neurons faithfully replicated the University of Montreal logo in vitro! Around, cells devoid of substrate did not adhere to the surface, grouped together in clusters, their maturation was compromised and they appeared as small dots in the background. The result demonstrates the importance of the substrate for neuronal adhesion and maturation in vitro!
Individual images were automatically acquired and stitched with the MAP tool in Fluoview.
Picture show a detail of the logo (single optic slice) where neurons grew perfectly following curvatures.”

Sighting a racehorse– Team: Mariana De Niz, Jocelyn Salvador, Luisa Iruela-Arispe

Northwestern University

The orientation and mounting procedure of this sample led to the hyaloid vessels of the retina looking like a running horse. The shape and orientation of the individual cells give some impression of motion too.

Sample: Hyaloid vessels of the developing eye of a rodent.

Label: Endothelial cell nuclei labeled with A488-ERG antibody (white), and TdTomato as the reporter of iSURE-Cre mice to report a Cre-dependent genetic modification affecting some endothelial cells.

Instrument: Yokogawa Nikon SoRa, Objective: CFI Apo LWD-lambda S 20 XC water immersion, magnification 20x, NA 0.95).

Scale: 250 X 250 um

Image or sample processing steps: This is a maximum protection of intensities from a z-stack that was 100 um thick, with 0.6 um step size. The image is a mosaic of 2X2, merged using NIS Elements, and subsequently processed in Fiji to adjust brightness and contrast, and to assign new LUTs.

Fibrous Frontier– Jordan Miner

University of Maine

Breast cancer cells (blue) migrating from a spheroid (right) into the surrounding collagen hydrogel. Exposure of hidden collagen sites (green) can be seen within the collagen fibers (magenta).

Sample: MDA-MB-231 spheroid embedded in a 2 mg/mL collagen type 1 hydrogel after 72 hours of cellular migration

Label: Cryptic collagen epitopes (D93) were labeled with Alexa Fluor 488 (represented in green) and cell nuclei were labeled with DAPI (represented in blue). Collagen (represented in magenta) was acquired label free with second harmonic generation microscopy.

Instrument: Custom-built two-photon microscope consisting of an upright microscope stand (Olympus BX50WI), laser scanning unit (Fluoview300, Olympus), titanium sapphire femtosecond laser (Chameleon Ultra II, Coherent), and an electro optic modulator (ConOptics) for laser power modulation. All images were acquired using a 40X, 0.8 NA water emersion objective with a 2X optical zoom. The DAPI and D93 images were acquired using two-photon excitation with an excitation wavelength of 780 nm and bandpass filters of 448/20 nm and 535/50 nm, respectively. The collagen signal was acquired using second harmonic generation microscopy using an excitation wavelength of 890 nm and a 448/20 nm bandpass filter.

Scale: 180 x 180 µm

Image or sample processing steps: This is a maximum projection of intensities from a 10 µm z-stack acquired at the boundary of the spheroid. In FIJI, subtract background was used with a rolling ball radius of 200 pixels prior to color merging.

Fluorescent Flight: Parasitic Wasp in Pink Spectrum– Frederic Bonnet

Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory
MDIBL Light Microscopy Facility

The image captures a parasitic wasp in ethereal detail, its delicate form rendered in pink and purple fluorescence against the black void. The transparent wings show intricate venation patterns, while the segmented body, antennae, and specialized ovipositor are highlighted in spectacular clarity, demonstrating the elegant engineering of this tiny predator.

Sample: Wasp

Label: Auto fluorescence imaged with 405,488,568 and 647nm laser lines

Instrument: Nikon Ti-E YokoGawa CSU-W1 with a CFI Plan Apochromat Lambda D 4X/0.2

Scale: 9 * 15 mm

Image or sample processing steps: Maximum intensity projection generated of a parasitic wasp generated from a tiled Z-stack containing 36 optical sections captured at 75μm intervals. Image acquisition employed 2×2 pixel binning as well as Nikon Denoise.AI to enhance signal-to-noise ratio, with multiple fields of view stitched together to capture the complete specimen. Post-processing was performed using FIJI and Adobe Photoshop.

Emerald Architecture: Beetle’s Ventral Symphony– Frederic Bonnet

Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory
MDIBL Light Microscopy Facility

The image reveals a beetle’s ventral anatomy in an explosion of emerald and turquoise hues. The folded wing cases, segmented thorax, and powerful legs are illuminated in jewel-like greens, while hints of purple and pink accent the joints and musculature, transforming this common insect into an architectural marvel.

Sample: Beetle

Label: autofluorescence imaged with 405,488,568 and 647nm laser lines

Instrument: Nikon Ti-E YokoGawa CSU-W1with a CFI Plan Apochromat Lambda D 4X/0.2

Scale: 5.3*5.3mm

Image or sample processing steps: Maximum intensity projection of a Beetle generated from a tiled Z-stack containing 113 optical sections captured at 12.5μm intervals. Image acquisition employed Denoise.AI to enhance signal-to-noise ratio, with multiple fields of view stitched together to capture the complete specimen. Post-processing was performed using FIJI and Adobe Photoshop.

More than meets the eye: Actin in the zebrafish eye region- Caroline Hoppe, Valerie Tornini

Yale University, UCLA,

This image shows the developing eye of a 24-hour-old zebrafish embryo. The tissue was stained with phalloidin to highlight the fine networks of filamentous actin, a key structural component of cells. The colors represent imaging depth, creating a layered view that reveals the complex three-dimensional organization of the eye at this early stage of development.

Sample: Fixed 24h old Zebrafish embryo eye region

Label: Actin cytoskeleton labeled with Alexa647- Phalloidin

Instrument: Images were acquired on a Zeiss LSM 980 Airyscan upright confocal microscope using a 40×/1.2 NA LD LCI Plan-Apochromat objective, with the immersion correction collar adjusted for water immersion. The sample was mounted in low melt agarose.

Scale: 211.51 x 211.51 microns (4084×4084 px)

Image or sample processing steps: A maximum intensity projection was generated from a z-stack spanning 51.6 µm with 300 nm optical sectioning. The image was deconvolved using Airyscan processing, and the projection was false-color coded by imaging depth in FIJI. Brightness and contrast were subsequently adjusted for display.

Harmonic Waves– Team: Mariana De Niz, Dina Arvanitis, Jocelyn Salvador, Luisa Iruela-Arispe

Northwestern University

The SHG signal in the aorta forms wave-like shapes that simulate flowing water.

Sample: Mouse aorta

Label: N/A. Second harmonic generation of collagen fibers in mouse aorta

Instrument: Leica SP8 Multiphoton, 25x Water, NA 1.0

Scale: 400 x 300 um

Image or sample processing steps: This is a MIP from a z-stack of 216 steps with a step size of 0.5um

The zebrafish– Romain Menard

Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory
MDIBL Light Microscopy Facility

Appreciation of the vascular and motoneurons system in the zebrafish larvae at 6dpf

Sample: zebrafish

Label: Fli1a:gfp for blood vessel – mnx1:mcherry for motorneurons

Instrument: Nikon spinning disk with disk 25um

Scale: 3.9 * 3.9 mm

Image or sample processing steps: This is a max projection and reconstruction from a tilting. Z-step of 2.5um.

Murine Hair Follicles– Adrian Kwiatkowski

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

The hair follicle is an appendage of the skin that undergoes cyclic bouts of regeneration throughout a mammal’s life. It is an ideal model for studying how stem cells toggle between quiescence and activation to maintain their long term capacity for regeneration. Intravital imaging technology using a two-photon microscope allows us to observe the same hair follicles in-vivo at multiple time points during the regenerative process. Pictured here are a cluster of several hair follicles with the K14+ epithelial cells labelled in yellow and the Lef1+ instructive growth center cells (dermal papilla) labelled in magenta.

Sample: Mouse, skin/hair follicle.

Label: K14+ epithelium labelled with EGFP (pseudo-colored yellow); Lef1+ dermal papilla labelled with RFP (pseudo-colored magenta).

Instrument: Olympus FVMPE-MS (Two Photon Microscope)

Scale: 500 um x 500 um

Image or sample processing steps: Single z-slice of multiple murine hair follicles in the full growth (anagen) stage. Each follicle imaged separately and compiled in illustrator.

The hidden neighborhood in skin–Adrian Kwiatkowski

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

The hair follicle is the primary appendage of the skin that undergoes cyclic bouts of regeneration and is an ideal model for studying how stem cells maintain toggle between quiescence and activation throughout a mammal’s life. Hair follicles growth is initiated by a group of cells at the base of the follicle known as the dermal papilla. They grow in clusters surrounded by fibroblasts, extracellular matrices, and vasculature.

Sample: Mouse skin/hair follicle

Label: cellular membranes labelled with mTmG (pseudo-colored green); hair follicle dermal stem cells and inner root sheet labelled with iRFP720 (pseudo-colored white); DAPI (magenta)

Instrument: Leica Stellaris White Light Microscope

Scale: 500 um x 500 um

Image or sample processing steps: This is a maximum projection of 80 um.

Regressing Hair Follicles in Murine Skin– Adrian Kwiatkowski

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

The hair follicle is the primary appendage of the skin that undergoes cyclic bouts of regeneration throughout a mammal’s life. As a result, is an ideal model for studying how adult stem cells toggle between quiescence and activation to maintain their long term capacity for regeneration. After a period of growth, the hair follicle undergoes a period of massive cell death involving apoptotic pruning of epithelial cells and the complete regression of the follicle. Smooth muscle dermal sheath cells (white) contract to push the hair shaft up, resulting in a bottle neck where epithelial cells undergoing apoptosis (red) can be observed.

Sample: Mouse skin/hair follicle

Label: DAPI (blue), K14+ epithelial cells labelled with EGFP (green); ITGA8+ Dermal Sheath Smooth Muscle Cells labelled with Alexa647 (white); Casp3+ cells destined for apoptosis labelled with Alexa555 (red).

Instrument: Lecia Stellaris White Light Microscope

Scale: 1 mm x 3 mm

Image or sample processing steps: Single z-slice.

Where Cells Meet: The Lens Anterior Suture– Sepideh Cheheltani

University of Delaware

At the anterior and posterior surfaces of the eye’s lens, fiber cells converge like the spokes of a wheel to form the sutures. This confocal image shows the anterior meeting point: actin filaments (magenta) form sturdy frameworks within each cell, cell membranes (yellow) outline their delicate borders, and nuclei (cyan) mark each cell’s heart in the epithelial layer. Together, these colors reveal the intricate microscopic architecture that keeps the lens transparent and flexible, allowing our eyes to focus the world around us.

Sample: Mouse ocular lens – anterior suture region, whole-mount confocal image (no clearing).

Label: F-actin stained with Rhodamine-Phalloidin (magenta), cell nuclei stained with Hoechst (cyan), and cell membranes labeled with Wheat Germ Agglutinin (WGA, yellow).

Instrument: Zeiss LSM 880 confocal microscope with Airyscan; 20x, NA 0.8

Scale: ~550 μm × 550 μm

Image or sample processing steps: Single optical section picked from a Z-stack that shows the merging of the fiber cells at the Y-anterior suture. Channels are pseudocolored, and the intensity is adjusted in Ziess Zen 3.7 software

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RRID: SCR_024409

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