Leica Microsystems news

A Step-by-Step Guide to Optimal DIC Setup

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:06:00 +0100

In the history of microscopy, several contrasting methods have been developed to improve contrast without damaging cells. In the 1950s, George Nomarski developed a contrast method based on polarized light and interference. This method was named differential interference contrast or DIC for short. DIC substantially improves the imaging of unstained cells and tissue slices and is superior to all other methods in terms of resolution and clarity.

Go to tutorial on Leica Science Lab

myNeuroLab.com products move to Leica Neuroscience Solutions

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 11:06:00 +0100

As a part of our complete product range, you will now find myNeuroLab.com products under myNeuroLab-Stereotaxic. Leica Microsystems’ complete solutions for neurological research is available now.

You will find all your favorite stereotaxic products such as the Leica Angle Two and Leica Impact One, as well as the added functionality to purchase directly online (US only) through our Leica Direct online shop. Of course, you can still get an instant quote too.

Go to Leica Microsystems Neuroscience Solutions

What will you find at Stereotaxic – myNeuroLab?

Confidence – products designed for accuracy and efficiency
Instant Quotes – receive instant quotes online for the products you need for your research
Convenient shopping – US customers can register to purchase from Leica Direct our online shop
Expert advice – rely on our family of Ph.D researchers
Complete, customizable solutions – configure instruments to your specifications and add accessories for the perfect package

CytoVision® Version 7.2 released

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 10:09:00 +0200

Bring FISH out of the dark with CytoVision^® Version 7.2

We are pleased to announce the release of CytoVision^® Version 7.2, this new release of CytoVision^® introduces new tools to ease the set up, analysis and reporting of cellular FISH cases.

All new CytoVision^® systems will ship with Version 7.2 and is available as an upgrade to existing systems.

Whether you are considering a new Cytogenetic system, expanding your existing system or considering an upgrade, there has never been a better time to talk to our experts about the possibilities.

Why upgrade to CytoVision^® Version 7.2

Cellular FISH assays have never been easier to set up, Adaptive Image Processing rules greatly reduces the number of parameters need to create an assay.
FISH scanning is fully integrated with the GSL slide loader. CytoVision^® now offers solutions for every FISH laboratory throughput, from single slide capture to unattended scanning of up to 120 slides.
Scoring cellular FISH assays has never been more accurate with CytoVision^®, improved background handling and proprietary scoring algorithms make CytoVision^® both fast and accurate.
New Cell Classifiers increase the speed of spot counting analysis by only capturing and scoring cells of morphology appropriate to the analysis.
Enhanced Scoring Grid with Interactive Pie Chart Display for scoring classes and results.
Integration of Leica DFC365FX utilizing state-of-the-art CCD technology.
Manual Tissue FISH Analysis, with automatic score calculation of dual probe amplification and enumeration ratio assay regions.

got to CytoVision^® product page

How Do You Use Social Media? Take part in a short survey.

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 11:15:00 +0200

To further improve the presence in Social Media and to offer valuable content on relevant platforms, we need to know more about the Social Media behavior of our customers and partners. The following survey consists of six short questions and will only take a minute of your time.

Thank you very much for your contribution!

Stefan Hell receives Körber European Science Prize 2011

Wed, 07 Sep 2011 14:51:00 +0200

Prof. Dr. Stefan Hell today receives the Körber European Science Prize 2011 endowed with 750,000 Euros. The scientist is awarded for his groundbreaking invention of STED (Stimulated Emission Depletion) microscopy. STED microscopy can, for the first time, make small details of up to 20 nanometers visible and will provide new insights from molecular processes of cells, paving the way for the fight against diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer's or Parkinson's. The invention has been developed into a market-ready product in 2007 by Leica Microsystems and is since then successfully used in renown research institutes worldwide.

More than 130 years ago, Ernst Abbe set up the law that far-field optical microscopes are limited in resolution to approximately half of the wavelength of light. Today, these limits have been broken and STED microscopy allows scientists to gain insights into the nano world far beyond this limit. In a Leica TCS STED microscope the sample is illuminated by two pulsed laser beams, tightly synchronized. The 635 nm wavelength excites the fluorophores of the sample the same way a conventional confocal system does. The excitation laser pulses are directly followed by a ring shaped illumination of a Ti:Sapphire Infrared laser. This pulse inhibits the fluorescence in the outer regions of the illuminated spot. The result: A smaller fluorescence spot that allows much more accurate scanning than with other methods using focused light. The fluorescing area is practically decreased at least 5 foldequivalent to increased resolution. STED microscopy is in principle not limited by diffraction any more.

More information:

Biotechnologie.de, an initiative of the Federal Ministery of Education and Research

Körber Stiftung

First Super-Resolution User Club Meeting

Winners of the Leica Image Contest

Mon, 29 Aug 2011 11:58:00 +0200

The jury has decided: The prizes for the best application images go to Ken Walker, Senior Curator of Entomology from the Museum Victoria/Australia and to Heiti Paves, Department of Gene Technology at the Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia.

Ken sent us a photo of a lichen or algae Arctiid moth Chamaita sp., taken with a Leica MZ16 stereomicroscope, and a Leica DFC500 camera.
Heiti won with his picture of the anthers of Arabidopsis thaliana, seen with a Leica TCS SP5 confocal microscope.

Congratulations and enjoy the Leica EZ4 stereomicroscope!

More application photos from our image contest can be found in the album on www.facebook.com/LeicaMicrosystems

Video of Leica IMS500 HD Platform

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 18:46:00 +0200

Watch the Advantages of Our Interactive Microscopy System

CytoVision® Version 7.1 released

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 10:09:00 +0200

The CytoVision^® platform continues to evolve. We are pleased to announce the release of CytoVision^® Version 7.1.

All new systems will ship with Version 7.1 and is available as an upgrade to existing systems.

Whether you are considering a new Cytogenetic system, expanding your existing system or considering an upgrade, there has never been a better time to talk to our experts about the possibilities.

7 reasons to upgrade to CytoVision^® Version 7.1

New range of supported and validated Leica Microscopes
Support for cooled CCD Leica camera for sensitive FISH applications
Remote access using our dedicated Citrix based solution
Compatible with Windows XP and Windows 7
Support for GSL scanning systems – increase efficiency, reduce turnaround times
Scalable from a single capture station to full scanning solutions
Available globally from Leica Microsystems

To find out how your lab can benefit please contact us.

A STED-y Route to Commercialization

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 11:37:00 +0200

Hell had first described STED—which cracks the diffraction limit that has for so long bounded optical microscopy—in a brief two-and-a-half page mathematical treatise six years earlier. “I had a very hard time to convince people it would work,” Hell recalls. The idea of a “diffraction barrier,” a physical constraint on light microscopy resolution, was simply too well ingrained.

Following his 2000 article, though, researchers started paying attention; the publication has racked up some 310 citations, according to the ISI Web of Knowledge. It also attracted the notice of microscopy manufacturer Leica Microsystems who licensed STED technology in 2001 and began converting it into a viable commercial system. It would take some five years. Along the way, Leica Microsystem's engineers, physicists, and microscopists, aided by members of Hell's own lab, would have to rethink most of the original benchtop design.
Read the full text article, published in BioTechnique:

A STED-y route to commercialization
Jeffrey M. Perkel, Ph.D., BioTechniques, Vol. 50, No. 6, June 2011, pp. 357–363

Research reSOLUTION No. 10

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 09:26:00 +0200

This issue features a new super-resolution technology, CARS microscopy, white light laser technology, new hybrid detectors and other application and technology reports.