egg shell

egg shell 40X

egg shell 100X

The eggshell that you crack open in order to have your breakfast of scrambled eggs is really 

made of calcium carbonate. Like the egg shell membrane (which I also posted), the egg shell contains thousands of pores that allows air and moisture to pass through it. 



egg shell membrane

egg shell membrane 40X

egg shell membrane 100X



An egg shell membrane is an interesting thing I looked under the microscope. While it may seem to appear as just a gray color, there are white spots all over the membrane as you can see below. Those are pores that allow air and moisture to pass through the egg because the membrane is semi-permeable.

 



peach fuzz

Ever wondered just what peaches had on its outside later?
Ever wondered why peaches gave allergies to many people and why the "fuzz" existed for the skin?




peach fuzz 400X



Before giving research to the questions I had above, I first wanted to see how the peel really looked like when zoomed in. Turns out, there are many fascinating shapes that envelope the peel such as: the "spikes" or "fuzz" that are shown above and numerous amounts of the peel's cells.







peach fuzz 400X

kiwi kiwi



kiwi (blue stain)40x 

 I decided to look under the microscope how a kiwi looks like and all the shapes that are formed in this fruit truly surprised me! Take a look yourself



kiwi( blue stain) 100X

kiwi (blue stain) 400X



So I posted a picture of this in another plant which truly astounded me when I saw it!

Can you guess what this is (Hint: We saw this in Biology)

It's,,, a spirogyra!!! 

I had first found one when I was looking at a dandelion but I never assumed it would be 

in a kiwi as well!



Shiny leaf (cuticle)

When I was a sophomore, I made a creative project in which I added these pictures of a rubber tree leaf to give reference to a monster's tough skin. 

Well for this post, I explain what these pictures are and what its function is. 

rubber tree leaf 40X

 

From the rubber tree leaf, the shining outer layer of it is called the cuticle. 

A cuticle is basically the covering of the epidermis, protecting it from the outside environment 

(which is why it is so hard).

rubber tree leaf 100X

 

 

 

Now as you are all wondering, why is the cuticle so shiny?

The cuticle's primary reason for being on the outer layer of the leaf 

is to prevent water loss as best as it could. 

*The cuticle is waxy* thus explaining why the rubber tree leaf has a shiny external layer.

rubber tree leaf 400X

Celery: The food of many fibers (part two of the first one)

So after I had posted a topic regarding celery, I decided to try and look again under the microscope. These pictures are of celery that were cut differently to show a better view of its cells.
If you would like to know some information about celery, check out the first post. Other than that, enjoy looking at the makeup of celery :)


celery cross section 40x

 

celery cross section 100X



celery cross section 400X

 

Poinsettia's mystery sap

While looking at the poinsettia, I accidentally broke off a stem and white milky sap started to pour out. I decided to take a look under the microscope and here are the results.

 

  poinsettia milky sap liquid in the stem 40X

While I knew that trees and other plants were also able to excrete sap, I wondered if this sticky substance was really poisonous or not. I did some research and it turns out, this sap is called Latex sap. While it isn't highly poisonous, it should be avoided by people who have allergies against latex for it could cause itching in your dermatitis and in severe conditions, can result to hives and dizziness.  

*Latex sap can lead to vomiting when eaten but effects aren't generally fatal so don't panic if you somehow swallowed some or the flower as a whole*

 

poinsettia milky sap liquid in the stem 100X

 

 

 

Now, the sap is milky fluid found in about 10% of plants (angiosperms) 

and is a mixed combination of proteins, starches, sugars, oils, etc. which coagulate (change to a solid or semi solid state) when exposed to air which is why it becomes sticky and hard to come off

when you touch it. 

     poinsettia milky sap liquid in the stem 100X

 

 

 

 

 

When a fungus likes your foot...

 

Before you run away from me the next time you see me, I just wanted to state the fact I do NOT have a fungus living at the bottom of my feet...

I hope…

 

 

Athlete's foot 40X

So as you can see from the title, these pictures show a fungus residing at the foot of the victim. 

Now this fungus usually comes in contact in swimming pools, public showers, lockers, and even wet towels, thus giving it its name: Athlete's foot. 

Athlete's foot 100X

 

 

 

Now this you see here is a common skin inflammation which has a possibility of spreading to the groin, palm, and other parts of the body. If you do get the athlete's foot sometime in your life, please know there are anti fungal medications out there :). 

  *However* there is a chance that unless technology improves this medication, the fungus will not go away. The athlete's foot you see above is really my dads and his didn't go away even after medications so be aware 0-0

 

Athlete's foot 400X

Fungi grow best in areas that are warm and moist in which case is usually between the toes. 

The two most common fungi that cause the athlete's foot are the Trichophyton mentagrophytes (which causes "toe web" or blister infections) and Tricophyton rubrum (which brings "Moccasin type infections which brings a scaly type of skin at the bottom of your foot).  

 







Circular magnets

Some time ago, a cup of tea was left for a week untouched and when afterwards, when I came back to observe it, I noticed black circles in the now rotten water. 

I decided to take a look. 

tea water after 12days 40x

When I saw this at first, I only thought of it as small particles

the tea had given to the water. But considering how I never saw these

the week before, I decided to investigate in a closer view. 

 

When I zoomed in, I definitely knew these were something new. 

*If you have a phobia of holes, I advise you not looking at it*

As soon I saw these I knew they were molds (And I also researched a bit and Fungi 

are either single cells or enormous chains of them clustered together also known as molds). 

tea water 12days after 100X

tea water after 12days 400X

Antman the hairyman

Before we begin, if you are terrified of bugs, then this might not be the most pretty thing you've seen ;)

 

Ant head part 40X

 

 

Now as you can see, in this post we will be talking about ants and how they are able to have functions such as climbing walls and picking up objects much heavier than they are. 

 

 

Ant body part 40X

Ant leg 100X

 

 

To begin, we'll start by talking about how ants are able to climb up walls. 

As you can see in this picture, the ant's legs have pads which are called arolia. 

Now what arolia does is hook onto a wall or ceiling the ant wants to climb or if the place the ants wants to go is too smooth, the arolia can also be used like a suction cup - acting like a vacuum.

 

 

Ant arolia 400X

 

 

 

 

As you see here, the arolia is curved like a hook to help ants latch themselves onto walls or even the ceiling, thus almost seeming to defy the laws of gravity if seen through the naked eye. 

Thus, I hope many of you realized spiders are not the only ones who are able to climb walls (sorry spiderman).  

 

Ant head part 400X

 

 

 

Now, many of you may also have wondered: How do ants, who have almost no weight, carry objects with a much larger mass and weight? 

Well believe it or not, it's BECAUSE their bodies so light that they are able to carry heavier objects. 

Since their muscles don't give much support, they are able to apply their strength to lifting other objects unlike us who lifts heavier objects depending on our body mass. 

*The difference here is because our muscles support our body mass. we can't use all our strength when lifting up other objects. 

Ant body pattern 400X