Thank you Andy and Johnney!

@Johnney:
those are some interesting pictures you posted there. I've been meaning to post some more insect pictures but I need to order a new blade for my microtome. I tried to make some slides with a scalpel, but I just couldn't slice them thin enough. I have a stero microscope that I will use to try to get some pictures in a moment. As for what slides I made myself:
housefly leg
Pine wood
rotifers
The rest I bought in sets. I hope to have the new blade for the microtome soon so I can make some really interesting slides :)

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Here are some pictures of a spider at about 20x magnification. These pictures were taken with this:

Here is me preparing the spider for viewing:

and here it is magnified:




{edit} I apologize for the discoloration in the spider. I collected him over a year ago and, at the time, I didn't have any formaldehyde to preserve him in so I had to use alcohol. {/edit}

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Its interesting Albert, your spider has a very different eye configuration to my spider!

My spider has 8 eyes in 2 rows of 4 stacked on top of one another


But your spider seems to have only 6 eyes in 2 triangular bundles of 3



Also on my spider, the eyes are generally more facing forward than your spider. Your spider appears he might have his eyes on a small "Bulge" on his head to elevate them for greater view. This might give your spider a wider plain of view.

It would lead me to believe that, due to the predators living in your spiders environment, he has evolved greater peripheral vision to defend himself!

But my spider, with the 2 rows of 4 eyes facing more forward, may not have as many predators trying to eat him so allowing him to evolve with less peripheral vision and better attack and hunting skills. I also believe my spider eats larger prey as he has a monster set of fangs!

What do you think of my Analysis?

I'm considering doing a centipede next as i found one yesterday and popped him in boiling water straight away. So he is ready for his photo shoot today :)

John.

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Its interesting Albert, your spider has a very different eye configuration to my spider!

My spider has 8 eyes in 2 rows of 4 stacked on top of one another


But your spider seems to have only 6 eyes in 2 triangular bundles of 3



Also on my spider, the eyes are generally more facing forward than your spider. Your spider appears he might have his eyes on a small "Bulge" on his head to elevate them for greater view. This might give your spider a wider plain of view.

It would lead me to believe that, due to the predators living in your spiders environment, he has evolved greater peripheral vision to defend himself!

But my spider, with the 2 rows of 4 eyes facing more forward, may not have as many predators trying to eat him so allowing him to evolve with less peripheral vision and better attack and hunting skills. I also believe my spider eats larger prey as he has a monster set of fangs!

What do you think of my Analysis?

I'm considering doing a centipede next as i found one yesterday and popped him in boiling water straight away. So he is ready for his photo shoot today :)

John.

Very interesting analysis John. I will try to identify the spider I have and see if the real reason for the eyes is known so we can end speculation. I can't wait to see your pictures of the centipede!

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BioVid Video Camera $699us

Camera: High Resolution, 1/3" Color CCD, C/CS Mount
Horizontal Resolution: 470 TV Lines
Picture Elements: 768 (h) x 494(v): NTSC, 752 (h) x 582 (v): PAL
Sensitivity: 0.8 Lux Minimum
Scanning System: NTSC (USA System). PAL available on request.
Video Output: S Video BNC Composite, RCA Composite
Macro Lens: Adjustable from 4" to Infinity
Dimensions: 1.6"W x 1.6"H x 2.1"D, 0.31 Lbs (41mm x 41mm x 52mm, 140g)

If only I had the money to spend on a camera like that one......

In the amateur telescope world it is not uncommon to use a good webcam as an ocular as an alternative to fitting a photocamera. The webcam uses an adapter of course, but since I expect that standardization is common in microscope lenses as well, an adapter to fit a specific type of webcam might be available for microscopes as well. Ever looked around for something like that?

Regards,
John.

. . . PAXcam Digital Microscope Camera Adapters



PAXcam digital cameras have standard C-mount threads for easy connection to readily available optical couplers manufactured for specific microscopes. PAXcam has couplers that are designed for:

> Olympus, Nikon, Leica, Zeiss, Meiji, Unitron, AO, B&L, and most other microscope brands.

> Upright microscopes with a trinocular head, inverted microscopes, metallographs with side ports,

or stereozoom microscopes with phototubes.

> Microscopes that do not have a photoport or trinocular head, or older scopes that are no longer manufactured.

C-mount couplers can be adapted for use through the eyepiece of the microscope to obtain high-resolution digital images.

If you are replacing an older C-mount video camera with the latest PAXcam digital imaging technology,

chances are you can reuse the C-mount coupler that is currently on your microscope. If you need to purchase one,

however, MIS can supply the appropriate digital camera adapter for your microscope and application,

as part of the PAXcam solution.


Metallurgy Image: This metallurgy image taken with an Olympus GX71 and the PAXcam ARCâ„¢

note: there's a very High Resolution Image available of this one above too


. . . there's an PAXcam Image Library available

I love the PAXcam image library :]]

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Sorry for the delay guys. I will try to get some updates in later tonight. I have been busy and haven't had time to take any new pics lately.

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can we make requests?

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Scorpions - Wind Of Change

can we make requests?

Sure, if I can find the sample and have the stuff I need to make the slide I would be more than happy to take some pictures of it :) If it is anything that has to be sliced thin enough to get light through it I will have to wait a few weeks until I get a new blade for my microtome, but I will keep the request in mind for when I do get one.

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a human neuron?

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Scorpions - Wind Of Change

a human neuron?

. . . for the tiME bein' - you can see more here and see just below here:




A healthy neuron . . .
Image courtesy of the Alzheimer's Disease Education and Referral Center
(a service of NIH’s National Institute on Aging)




. . . and, last but NOT least - you can learn about The pianist in the mirror - human mirror neuron systems for motor learning


Figure 1. Action–listening illustration.
A, Music performance can be viewed as a complex sequence of both actions and sounds,
in which sounds are made by actions. B,
The sound of music one knows how to play can be reflected, as if in a mirror,
in the corresponding motor representations


Figure 2. Action–listening activation.
A, B, Extensive bilateral activation in the frontoparietal motor-related brain regions
was observed when subjects listened to the trained-music they knew how to play (A),
but not when they listened to the never-learned untrained-different-notes-music (B).
C, Activation maps are shown in areas that were significantly more active during listening to the trained-music
versus the untrained-different-notes-music. L, Left; R, right



Information & Diagrams © Deric Bownds 2008 • All Rights Reserved

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BOINC Wiki . . .

Science Status Page . . .

a human neuron?

I'll see what I can do.

@Richard:
Great diagrams and links you have there! Thank you very much for sharing those with us. Here is a more detailed diagram of a neuron that I found on my hard drive:

I will have to get the image for you later as I have to go to the store to pick up a few things at the moment. I hope to have this along with some other updates soon.

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I don't have a great human neuron sample, but here is what I was able to get:

I will put this on my list of slides to order and get you a better image.

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Here is a human heart muscle at med. power:

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cool

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Scorpions - Wind Of Change

Here is a human heart muscle at med. power:

Fascinating! but scary. Where'd you get the heart to take this with, hmmn?

Is it on loan from Jack the Ripper, or do you employ your own grave robbers?


EEK!

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Here is a human heart muscle at med. power:

Fascinating! but scary. Where'd you get the heart to take this with, hmmn?

Is it on loan from Jack the Ripper, or do you employ your own grave robbers?


EEK!

Who says I employ anyone? ;-)

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I am going to order some more of the supplies that I need tonight, such as the microtome blade, scalpel blades, immersion oils, etc. I hope to have them by next week. Until then I will do some other updates at 20x magnification tonight. I should have them posted later tonight, but if not I will do it first thing after school tomorrow.

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After I dissect him I will have pictures of this guy:

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After I dissect him I will have pictures of this guy:

What is that "guy"?

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PROUD TO BE TFFE!

After I dissect him I will have pictures of this guy:

What is that "guy"?

To be perfectly honest I have no idea :) I will look up exactly what it is though.

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