Science Lab

Learn. Share. Contribute. The knowledge portal of Leica Microsystems. Find scientific research and teaching material on the subject of microscopy. The portal supports beginners, experienced practitioners and scientists alike in their everyday work and experiments. Explore interactive tutorials and application notes, discover the basics of microscopy as well as high-end technologies. Become part of the Science Lab community and share your expertise.

A fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) observed with an Ivesta 3 stereo microscope during fly pushing (sorting of the flies). The scale bar length is 1 mm. Image courtesy of M. Benton, EMBL, Heidelberg, Germany.

A Guide to Using Microscopy for Drosophila (Fruit Fly) Research

The fruit fly, typically Drosophila melanogaster, has been used as a model organism for over a century. One reason is that many disease-related genes are shared between Drosophila and humans. It is…

A Guide to Zebrafish Research

To obtain optimal results while doing zebrafish research, especially during screening, sorting, handling, and imaging, seeing the fine details and structures is important. They help researchers make…

Fluorescence stereo microscope image of anesthetized Mediterranean fruit flies recorded with a M205 stereo microscope.

Investigating Fruit Flies (Drosophila melanogaster)

Learn how to image and investigate Drosophila fruit fly model organisms efficiently with a microscope for developmental biology applications from this article.

Studying Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans)

Find out how you can image and study C. elegans roundworm model organisms efficiently with a microscope for developmental biology applications from this article.

SPERM HY-LITER™ staining of a sexual assault smear slide which was performed by a forensic DNA crime laboratory.

Forensic Detection of Sperm from Sexual Assault Evidence

The impact of modern scientific methods on the analysis of crime scene evidence has dramatically changed many forensic sub-specialties. Arguably one of the most dramatic examples is the impact of…

A portion of an early binocular microscope developed by John Leonhard Riddel in the early 1850s.

The History of Stereo Microscopy

This article gives an overview on the history of stereo microscopes. The development and evolution from handcrafted instruments (late 16th to mid-18th century) to mass produced ones the last 150…