Caspost 25 Amazing Life Under the Microscope Photos

Honorable mention: Young sporangia of slime mold Arcyria stipata, by Dr. Dalibor Matýsek, of the Mining University – Technical University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic. (Olympus BioScapes)

Honorable mention: Plant seed from freshwater pond near Moscow, by Daniel Stoupin of Moscow, Russia. (Olympus BioScapes)

Seventh prize: Fruit fly ovaries and uterus. The muscular and neural structure of the Drosophila melanogaster reproductive system is shown using fluorescence microscopy. The background staining of the eggs in red is a specific function of the mutant fly strain that is pictured here. Gunnar Newquist, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada. (Olympus BioScapes)

First prize winner: Rotifer Floscularia ringens feeding. Its rapidly beating cilia (hair-like structures) bring water that contains food to the rotifer. The “wheel animacules” were first described by Leeuwenhoek (ca.1702); when their cilia beat, they look like they have two wheels spinning on top. They live in reddish-brown tubes made of spherical “bricks.” Charles Krebs, Issaquah, Washington. (Olympus BioScapes)

Honorable mention: Juvenile live bay scallop Argopecten irradians. The blue spheres are eyes — scallops have up to 100 simple eyes strung around the edges of their mantles. Through research, scientists are trying to help restore scallop populations in Rhode Island. Kathryn Markey, Aquatic Diagnostic Laboratory, Roger Williams University, Bristol, Rhode Island. (Olympus BioScapes)

Honorable mention: The eye of a damselfly. The image reveals the regular, crystal-like hexagonal lattice of the eye’s elements. Dr. Igor Siwanowicz, Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology, Munich, Germany. (Olympus BioScapes)

Honorable mention: Skeleton of a radiolarian, a single-cell protozoan with an intricate mineral skeleton, by Christopher B. Jackson of Berne, Switzerland. (Olympus BioScapes)

Honorable mention: Neuronal culture, fluorescence, six images stitched at 40x magnification, by Jan Schmoranzer, Freie University Berlin, Institute for Chemistry and Biochemistry, Berlin, Germany. (Olympus BioScapes)