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.

History, Developments and Trends of Microscopy in Cancer Research

Cancer is a global disease, with 18 million new cases diagnosed and 10 million cancer-related deaths worldwide in 2020. This burden is set to increase, with a projected increase in cases of ~55% by…

Overview of Fluorescent Dyes in terms of Applications and Properties

An introduction to commonly used fluorescent dyes and an overview of their characteristics are given in this article. Fluorescence microscopy is used for the study of specific cellular components with…

Researchers Insights: Microscopy in Cancer Research

Discover how imaging techniques are driving cancer research forward. In this issue, we present comprehensive multimodal studies using microscopy, as well as new directions in intraoperative cancer…

Zebrafish heart, DAPI (nuclei, blue), Tropomyosin (cardiomyocytes, red) and GFP (primordial cardiac layer, green). Courtesy of Anna Jazwinska, University of Fribourg, Switzerland.

A Guide to Fluorescence Microscopy

Fluorescence microscopy uses the ability of fluorophores, dyes, or fluorescent proteins to emit light of a specific wavelength after being excited with light of a shorter wavelength. Biomolecules can…

Virally labeled neurons (red) and astrocytes (green) in a cortical spheroid derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells. THUNDER Model Organism Imager with a 2x, 0.15 NA objective at 3.4x zoom was used to produce this 425 µm Z-stack (26 positions) which is presented here as an Extended Depth of Field (EDoF) projection. Images courtesy of Dr. F. Birey, Dr. S. Pasca laboratory, Palo Alto, CA.

Guide to Live-Cell Imaging

For a wide range of applications in various research fields of life science, live-cell imaging is an indispensable tool for visualizing cells in a state as close to in vivo, i.e. living and active, as…

Shown is the DMi8 inverted microscope which is used for life-science research.

Factors to Consider When Selecting a Research Microscope

An optical microscope is often one of the central devices in a life-science research lab. It can be used for various applications which shed light on many scientific questions. Thereby the…

Brain organoid labeled with lamin (green) and tubulin (magenta), acquired using Viventis Deep. Courtesy of Akanksha Jain, Treutlein Lab ETH-DBSSE Basel (Switzerland).

Faster & Deeper Insights into Organoid and Spheroid Models

Gain deeper, more translatable, insights into organoid and spheroid models for drug discovery and disease research by overcoming key imaging challenges. In this eBook, explore advanced microscopy…

Fluorescence microscopy of sectioned tissue, showing the interface between the extensor digitorum longus muscle and the common peroneal nerve in the adult rat. Regenerative peripheral nerve interface (RPNI) at 2 weeks. Image acquired using Mica. Stained for nuclei (blue), neurofilaments (green) and S100B (red). Image courtesy of Dr. Aaron Lee, Department of Bioengineering (Lab of Dr. Rylie Green), Imperial College London.

How to Image Axon Regeneration in Deep Muscle Tissue

This study highlights Dr. Aaron Lee’s research on mapping nerve regeneration in muscle grafts post-amputation. Limb loss often leads to reduced quality of life, not only from tissue loss but also due…

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…