The art in good science (Part I)

At Proxima our motto is “Perfecting the Art of Good Science”, but one of the perks of working at a biotech company with as many varied projects and capabilities as Proxima means we also get to enjoy the art IN good science. That’s why we’ve chosen to share some of the interesting images we’ve collected recently, either in the course of our work or just because it was interesting to apply our capabilities in microscopy to some ordinary items.

The first image shows some yogurt from our lunch we examined using darkfield microscopy. You can see stick-like chains of Lactobacilli, the bacteria responsible for turning milk into yogurt.

The second photo is of mold colonies growing on Rose Bengal Chloramphenicol agar, a culture medium used in selection of yeast and other fungi.

In the third image we see a freshwater alga we found growing in water from the bottom saucer of one of our office plants. This image is taken using phase contrast and shows the bright green chloroplasts, the light capturing structures found in plant cells.

The next image is a close-up of colonies of the yeast-like organism Aureobasidium namibiae growing on malt extract agar. This organism develops a deep green-black color as the colonies get older and sends out bundles of root-like pseudohyphae into the surrounding medium.

The fifth image in our gallery is of an adult mayfly. These insects spend almost their entire life as juveniles living on the bottom of freshwater streams and rivers. The adults emerge in late summer and live only about 24 to 48 hours, long enough to mate and lay the next generation of eggs. In fact, the adult has no functional mouthparts or digestive system and doesn’t eat or drink at all during its brief existence.

Finally, we see a darkfield microscopy image of Candida albicans. This yeast is a common component of the normal microflora of the human body but can cause occasional infections.

Thanks for taking the time to check out these interesting images. We are generating more fascinating photos all the time and look forward to sharing the next batch with you soon!