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MicroBites The latest news from the Biomedical Imaging Research Unit BIRU’s New Banner Issue 3 April 20086 Confocal News HOT NEWS: New Confocal Microscope in 2008! BIRU has ordered a BRAND NEW state-of-the-art inverted confocal microscope, which will be installed later in the year. The Zeiss LSM 710, just released in 2008, is the latest technology available from Carl Zeiss. The microscope will have high spec lenses and excellent real-time acquisition capabilities including simultaneous spectral imaging. This instrument promises to provide exceptional quality for standard confocal microscopy, as well as cutting edge techniques being pioneered by Prof. Mark Cannell and A/P Christian Soeller. We also hope to upgrade the machine to multi-photon in the future. Watch this space for news of its official opening. TCS 4D lives on.....Last year, our trusty Leica TCS 4D confocal microscope finally gave up the ghost and could not be repaired. However, the microscope is still functioning as a fluorescence microscope (no camera attached) and can be used for checking your slides. It costs $5/ hour for University staff and students and can be booked through the BIRU Scheduler. Contact Ratish or Jacqui to register. DIC....or is it? The banner represents four main areas of imaging that BIRU currently supports and showcases the quality of work being produced by our users. We would like to thank the contributors who kindly gave permission to use their stunning images. R Confocal: Bacterial biofilm. Kelly Roberts, School of Biological Sciences. TEM: Liver biopsy from a patient with a storage disease. Linda Graham, LabPlus, Auckland Hospital. Light microscopy: GABA-A receptor expression (a1 subunit) in a motor neuron in the human medulla. Elizabeth Eady, Dr. Henry Waldvogel & A/P Louise Nicholson, Dept. of Anatomy with Radiology. Image processing: 3D reconstruction of a moa skull using AMIRA 3D software. Jeremy Corfield & Dr. Fabiana Kubke, Dept. of Anatomy with Radiology. www.health.auckland.ac.nz/biru No, it’s actually another lesser known light microscopy contrast technique called Hoffman Modulation Contrast (HMC). The great thing about HMC is that it can be done through plastic! As you know Differential Interference Contrast (DIC) gives poor results if imaging through plastic dishes, however HMC has been developed specifically for this purpose. It provides images that appear 3dimensional just like DIC. Instead of using prisms, there is a modulator in the objective lens and a special diaphragm in the condenser and a polariser. These work together to provide fantastic images. The technique is currently used to examine embyros in the IVF field. The good news is that we already have this available on our Nikon inverted microscope. The HMC objectives are 20x and 40x, are long working distance and are also suitable for fluorescence. If you want to give this a try, please contact Jacqui. For more info, check out: http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/ techniques/hoffmann/hoffmannindex.html Editor: Sue McGlashan [email protected] Another front cover image from a BIRU user Congratulations to PhD student Jeremy Corfield and his supervisors Drs. Fabiana Kubke and Stuart Parsons for gaining the prestigious spot on the front cover of Brain, Behavior and Evolution. Images were obtained using CT and modelled with AMIRA. They represent 3D-reconstructions of the bush moa skull and a model of the brain. MicroBites Issue 3:April 2008 Nikon News New Image Pro Plus AFA Module The Advanced Fluorescence Acquisition module allows us to control all aspects of our Nikon system including the motorised XY stage, z stage, filter block, etc. It is designed to facilitate live cell imaging and allows multi-site imaging and large field scans over time. If you want to more about this, please contact Jacqui. Citation: Corfield JR, Wild JM, Parsons S, Hauber ME & Kubke, MF. (2008) Evolution of brain size in the Palaeognath lineage, with an emphasis on New Zealand ratites. Brain, Behavior Evolution 71:87-99. Microscopy New Zealand Inc http://microscopynz.otago.ac.nz/ Our aim is to keep New Zealand microscopists in touch with each other and share expertise, knowledge and equipment. Our society aims to keep the network alive, by organising and promoting events of interest to microscopists and by keeping people informed about all types of microscopy. How does membership benefit you? • • Sign up today! obtain registration at the biennial microscopy conferences participate in microscopy workshops and symposiums • swap ideas and information with like-minded people • meet microscopists from different disciplines • be informed about local microscopy affairs • be eligible for grants-in-aid to attend training courses and workshops • stay informed about new technology • have your say in the direction and affairs of the Society • support the resources of the Society (website, newsletter, & directory) Annual membership fees $20.00 (standard), $10.00 (full time students), $40.00 (corporate) www.health.auckland.ac.nz/biru Editor: Sue McGlashan [email protected]