Fluorescent proteins are the fundament of recent fluorescence microscopy and its modern applications. Their discovery and consequent development was one of the most exciting innovations for life sciences in the last century and the starting point of the deciphering of numberless natural phenomena. Read article

Optogenetics is a technique that allows light-controlled responses of transfected cells. The cells are genetically modified by introduction of genes that code for light-induced channels or ion pumps. The term optogenetics denotes the light control feature introduced by genetic engineering. Read article

Morphogenesis -- literally “shape creation” – is responsible for the diversity of biological shapes that make up Darwin’s “endless forms most beautiful and wonderful”. In recent years, the combination of cutting edge microscopy and molecular approaches in developmental, cell, and molecular biology have provided an increasingly in-depth view of how organisms (and all of their integral parts) form from a single cell. In this exciting webinar... Read article

The need for data validation and accessibility has never been greater than it is today. We are inundated with information from a multitude of resources, but how can we easily evaluate the accuracy of that data? In the past, the peer review process provided this and was often run by publishers. Read article

Join Clifford M. Chapman, MS, HTL(ASCP), QIHC, technical director, Strata Pathology Services Inc., Lexington, MA, on April 26 from 2-3 p.m. for a free webinar on quality management for the histology laboratory. Read article

The examination of live unstained biological specimens often suffers from poor contrast and therefore bad visibility of the specimen. Thick specimens in particular, such as brain slices, show up as nothing more than light grey structures instead of single cells. This tutorial explains the optical elements in the light path and the operating mode of DIC (differential interference contrast) on the example of an inverted and motorized high-end research light microscope which can be used for transmitted light contrasting methods and fluorescence microscopy. Read article

Stereo microscopes are often nicknamed the workhorse of the lab or the production department. Users spend many hours behind the ocular inspecting, observing, documenting or dissecting samples. Which factors need to be considered when selecting... Read article

This reference list demonstrates the major application fields for laser microdissection in life science research. Read article

The hematoxylin and eosin stain (H&E) is the most widely used stain in histology and histopathology laboratories. When it is properly performed it has the ability to demonstrate a wide range of normal and abnormal cell and tissue components and yet it is a relatively simple stain to carry out on paraffin or frozen sections. In histopathology a high proportion of cases can be diagnosed by an experienced pathologist using an H&E stain alone. Read article

Neuroscience research very frequently requires animal sacrifice and microscopic examination of the brain. Certainly, stereotaxic surgery is always followed by histological examination, if only to confirm the correct placement of the probe. Read article

This video tutorial presents a reliable way to produce samples for super-resolution GSD imaging with a special focus on the mounting step. Stable and flat mounting of the coverslip increases the performance of the overall system, leading to an improved resolution of the GSD image. Read article

Neuroscience researchers usually need to see slices of whole brain in order to determine the location in brain of detail they are viewing under the microscope. The brain needs to be hardened to allow cutting the thin slices, unless a vibrating blade microtome, which is much slower, is used. Read article

The characterization of substances at the single molecule level has become part of the standard repertoire of scientific research institutes. One of the most common methods is Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy (FCS), which can be used to examine the dynamics and concentration of fluorescent molecules in solution. Read article

There are many different types of consumables for laser microdissection instruments. They cover a wide range of applications from basic to highly specialized, enabling scientists to choose their own individual configuration whatever their field of research is. The most common consumables are various glass membrane slides in combination with standard caps or cap strips to collect the dissectate. Read article