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.

Macroscale to Nanoscale Pore Analysis of Shale and Carbonate Rocks

Physical porosity in rocks, like shale and carbonate, has a large effect on the their storage capacity. The pore geometries also affect their permeability. Imaging the visible pore space provides…

See the Structure with Microscopy - Know the Composition with Laser Spectroscopy

The advantages of a 2-in-1 materials analysis solution combining optical microscopy and laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) for simultaneous visual and chemical inspection are described in…

Spherical aberration describes the fact that waves which pass through the centre of the lens are refracted less than the waves which pass through the edges of the curved lens.

Eyepieces, Objectives and Optical Aberrations

This article covers the components of the eyepieces and how to adjust them correctly to suit your eyes.

Koehler Illumination: A Brief History and a Practical Set Up in Five Easy Steps

In this article, we will look at the history of the technique of Koehler Illumination in addition to how to adjust the components in five easy steps.

Collecting Light: The Importance of Numerical Aperture in Microscopy

Numerical aperture (abbreviated as ‘NA’) is an important consideration when trying to distinguish detail in a specimen viewed down the microscope. NA is a number without units and is related to the…

Optimization of the Interplay of Optical Components for Aberration Free Microscopy

Optical microscopes are used to magnify objects which are otherwise invisible for the human eye. For this purpose high quality optics is necessary to achieve appropriate resolution. However, besides…

Comparison when observing a rodent model organism with a Greenough versus CMO (common main objective) stereo microscope for a task like surgery.

Rodent and Small-Animal Surgery

Learn how you can perform rodent (mouse, rat, hamster) and small-animal surgery efficiently with a microscope for developmental biology and medical research applications by reading this article.

Gene Editing with CRISPR/Cas9 - Breakthrough in Genome Engineering

The CRISPR/Cas9 system is one of several different bacterial systems for defense against viral attacks. It consists of two main components. One is a small piece of RNA which binds to the viral target…

Transgenic zebrafish larva where fluorescent proteins label the heart muscle blue, blood and blood vessels red, and all circulatory system cells green. Image recorded with a M205 FA microscope.

Imaging and Analyzing Zebrafish, Medaka, and Xenopus

Discover how to image and analyze zebrafish, medaka, and Xenopus frog model organisms efficiently with a microscope for developmental biology applications from this article.