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…

Example of calibrating a microscope at a higher magnification value using a stage micrometer.

Microscope Calibration for Measurements: Why and How You Should Do It

Microscope calibration ensures accurate and consistent measurements for inspection, quality control (QC), failure analysis, and research and development (R&D). Calibration steps are described in this…

Mouse brain slice which was immunostained with GFAP-A647 and imaged using a THUNDER Imager Tissue. Courtesy of H. Xu, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA.

A Guide to Neuroscience Research

Neuroscience often requires investigating challenging specimens to better understand the nervous system and disorders. Leica microscopes helps neuroscientists obtain insights into neuronal functions.

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…

Zebrafish-embryo image captured using a THUNDER Imager Tissue and live instant computational clearing.

Improving Zebrafish-Embryo Screening with Fast, High-Contrast Imaging

Discover from this article how screening of transgenic zebrafish embryos is boosted with high-speed, high-contrast imaging using the DM6 B microscope, ensuring accurate targeting for developmental…

Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma with 11 Apoptosis biomarkers shown – BAK, BAX, BCL2, BCLXL, Caspase9, CIAP1, NaKATPase, PCK26, SMAC, Vimentin, and XIAP.

Transforming Research with Spatial Proteomics Workflows

Spatial Proteomics, Nature Methods 2024 Method of the Year, is driving research advancements in cancer, immunology, and beyond. By combining positional data with high throughput imaging of proteins in…

Spherulitic crystals of hippuric acid, which were imaged with a Leica microscope using crossed polarizers, showing so-called Maltese crosses.

A Guide to Polarized Light Microscopy

Polarized light microscopy (POL) enhances contrast in birefringent materials and is used in geology, biology, and materials science to study minerals, crystals, fibers, and plant cell walls.

Factors to Consider when Selecting Clinical Microscopes

What matters if you would like to purchase a clinical microscope? Learn how to arrive at the best buying decision from our Science Lab Article.

Automated Laser Microdissection for Proteome Analysis

Deep Visual Proteomics Provides Precise Spatial Proteomic Information

Despite the availability of imaging methods and mass spectroscopy for spatial proteomics, a key challenge that remains is correlating images with single-cell resolution to protein-abundance…