Nanoscale Imaging

Donut shaped blood cells

By using nanoptical scanning probe microscopes, scientists are able to reveal the going-ons inside humans and animals with stunning clarity. Take the above set of donut-shaped blood cells – which have been treated with an antibiotic called phyllomelittin taken from the skin of a monkey frog – now decidedly more appetizing than when in a normal, bloody-looking state. (I’m sure many of you relaxed back into your seat Homer Simpson-style with an “Mmm… Monkey frog donuts…”)

Down in the gallery below you’ll also see nanoscale images of (from top to bottom) an enzyme attacking a strand of DNA, the self-cleaning properties of lotus plants, E. coli bacteria, the cell walls of blue-green algae, and 12 individual bromine atoms arranged in a circle.