By Aliyah Kovner The planet is comprised of continents and islands, each with unique cultures and resources. One area may be well known for growing food, another for manufacturing building materials, and yet despite their differences and distance from one another, the regions are linked by global processes. Living cells are built on a similar…
What is hyperspectral image analysis?
An imaging technique that shows the underlying spectrum for each pixel Hyperspectral imaging combines digital imaging with spectroscopy, so that the underlying frequencies in the spectrum for each pixel can be identified. Because only a single wavelength can be represented as a colour for a pixel, a two-dimensional hyperspectral image effectively represents three-dimensional information, in…
R&D 100 winner of the day: VHX-7000 Digital Microscope
Keyence Corporation of America’s VHX-7000 Digital Microscope pushes the benchmark for what can be offered from a digital microscope. The VHX-7000 is the world’s first 4K microscope, allowing users to view, capture and measure at any angle. With an easy-to-use interface, anyone is able to take high-resolution images and perform 2D/3D measurements. Specialized lenses have…
Engineers produce a fisheye lens that’s completely flat
By Jennifer Chu | MIT News Office To capture panoramic views in a single shot, photographers typically use fisheye lenses — ultra-wide-angle lenses made from multiple pieces of curved glass, which distort incoming light to produce wide, bubble-like images. Their spherical, multipiece design makes fisheye lenses inherently bulky and often costly to produce. Now engineers…
Quantum light squeezes the noise out of microscopy signals
Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory used quantum optics to advance state-of-the-art microscopy and illuminate a path to detecting material properties with greater sensitivity than is possible with traditional tools. “We showed how to use squeezed light – a workhorse of quantum information science – as a practical resource for microscopy,”…
Sensors of world’s largest digital camera snap first 3,200-megapixel images at SLAC
Crews at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have taken the first 3,200-megapixel digital photos – the largest ever taken in a single shot – with an extraordinary array of imaging sensors that will become the heart and soul of the future camera of Vera C. Rubin Observatory. The images are so large that…
Super-resolution imaging breakthrough in living cells
Edinburgh scientists have developed a new imaging technique that reveals the inner workings of living cells in stunning detail and could pave the way to a better understanding of many diseases. The new super-resolution imaging technique – LIVE-PAINT- provides a flexible and powerful way of tracking individual proteins inside living cells, without disrupting their activity.…
New Thermo Scientific Selectris filters push Cryo-EM boundaries with atomic resolution
Thermo Fisher Scientific has introduced two breakthrough imaging filters, the Thermo Scientific Selectris Imaging Filter and the Thermo Scientific Selectris X Imaging Filter, taking cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) to a new level, making it possible to view proteins at true atomic resolution. Combined with a Thermo Scientific Krios or Glacios Cryo-Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), the Selectris…
Versatile Thermo Scientific Helios 5 PFIBs enable materials and life sciences research
Thermo Fisher Scientific has released the Thermo Scientific Helios 5 Plasma Focused Ion Beam (PFIB) DualBeam and the Thermo Scientific Helios 5 Hydra DualBeam focused ion beam scanning electron microscopes (FIB-SEMs). Built for a wide range of uses, from metals and battery characterization to structural biology, these instruments are well-suited for labs that conduct both materials…
Thermo Fisher Scientific accelerates nanometer-scale research with next-generation Apreo 2
Thermo Fisher Scientific today unveiled its next-generation Thermo Scientific Apreo 2 Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), a high-performance field emission SEM that takes automation to the next level, offering easy-to-obtain nanometer-scale information at a range of working distances and operating conditions. The Apreo 2 was designed to help investigators, SEM operators and lab managers deliver expert…
JEOL introduces new compact Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope
JEOL expands its FE SEM product group with the introduction of a compact Field Emission SEM that offers ultrahigh resolution and versatile analytical capabilities at a great value. The new JSM-IT700HR InTouchScope FE SEM is equipped with a large specimen chamber and both High and Low Vacuum modes for managing a wide variety of specimen…
What is a spectrophotometer?
Spectrophotometers measure a light beam’s intensity as a function of its color (wavelength). Important features of spectrophotometers are spectral bandwidth (the range of colors it can transmit through the test sample), the percentage of sample-transmission, the logarithmic range of sample-absorption, and sometimes a percentage of reflectance measurement. A spectrophotometer is commonly used for the measurement…
What is a spectrometer?
A spectrometer is any instrument used to measure the wavelengths and intensities of a physical characteristic over a given range, i.e. spectrum. The property being measured is usually intensity of light, but other variables like polarization can also be measured. Technically, a spectrometer can function over any range of light, but most operate in a…
Microscopy – Images in a flash
Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers have built a novel microscope that provides a “chemical lens” for viewing biological systems including cell membranes and biofilms. The tool could advance the understanding of complex biological interactions, such as those between microbes and plants. The noninvasive instrument, detailed in Optics Letters, allows researchers to capture images using ultrashort…
New application for trinamiX near-infrared spectroscopy solutions: plastic sorting made easy
trinamiX, a wholly owned subsidiary of BASF, today announced it has developed a new application for its mobile Near-Infrared (NIR) Spectroscopy Solutions to simplify plastic sorting and recycling. Using trinamiX technology, the diverse compositions of different plastics can now be precisely determined and thus distinguished via the simple use of a portable handheld device that…
JEOL begins remote demos of new ultrahigh resolution FE SEM
JEOL’s new Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope, the JSM-IT800, is the company’s top-of-the-line microscope with ultrahigh spatial resolution imaging and analysis at the nanoscale. Capabilities include up to 2,000,000 x magnification and an accelerating voltage range of 0.01 to 30 kV, making it possible to acquire stunning details of nanostructures as well as comprehensive analysis…
Chemistry innovator widening, quickening uses of spectrometry
By Sarah Olson Michel The clock is ticking when a neurosurgeon is trying to remove a brain tumor but also determining its malignancy and type. Instead of sending samples to a lab where the necessary testing equipment resides to answer those questions, a Purdue scientist is working on shrinking that equipment for use in the…
Park Systems introduces Park NX-TSH a high resolution, automated Tip Scanning Head (TSH) for industrial large sample AFM
Park Systems, manufacturer of Atomic Force Microscopes (AFM), announces Park NX-TSH, automated Tip Scan Head for large sample analysis over 300 mm. Park NX-TSH is for large and heavy sample flat panel display glass and features conductive AFM for electric defect analysis by integrating a micro probe station. Park Systems will have a live demo…
Two new high-resolution mass spectrometers added to the Thermo Scientific Orbitrap platform
The Thermo Scientific Orbitrap Exploris portfolio of high-resolution, accurate-mass (HRAM) systems, which launched in 2019 with the Thermo Scientific Orbitrap Exploris 480 mass spectrometer, now includes two new, highly capable instruments, the Thermo Scientific Orbitrap Exploris 240 and Thermo Scientific Orbitrap Exploris 120 mass spectrometer, allowing customers to easily transfer knowledge and methods from research…
Towable sensor free-falls to measure vertical slices of ocean conditions
By Jennifer Chu, MIT News Office The motion of the ocean is often thought of in horizontal terms, for instance in the powerful currents that sweep around the planet, or the waves that ride in and out along a coastline. But there is also plenty of vertical motion, particularly in the open seas, where water…
US Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, selects JEOL mass spectrometers for five labs
JEOL USA announces that it has been awarded a major contract by the US Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection for five JEOL AccuTOF-DART Direct Analysis in Real Time, Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometers. These instruments will enhance the analytical capabilities of five US Customs and Border Protection laboratories across the country. Three additional labs…
Helios 5 laser PFIB accelerates the pace of materials research for academic and industrial users
Thermo Scientific Helios 5 Laser PFIB system, released by Thermo Fisher Scientific, is an advanced focused ion-beam-scanning electron microscope (FIB-SEM) with a fully integrated femtosecond laser that quickly characterizes millimeter-scale volumes of material in 3D with nanometer resolution. The Helios 5 Laser PFIB combines the best-in-class Thermo Scientific Elstar SEM Column for ultra-high-resolution imaging and…
New imaging technology allows visualization of nanoscale structures inside whole cells and tissues
Since Robert Hooke’s first description of a cell in Micrographia 350 years ago, microscopy has played an important role in understanding the rules of life. However, the smallest resolvable feature, the resolution, is restricted by the wave nature of light. This century-old barrier has restricted understanding of cellular functions, interactions and dynamics, particularly at the…
New Leica platform adds an additional dimension to confocal imaging
Designer and manufacturer of microscopes and scientific equipment, Leica Microsystems, has launched its flagship new confocal microscopy platform, STELLARIS. The platform will significantly improve how scientists are able to capture three-dimensional images of living cells and tissues. Due to its optimized imaging performance, the new confocal platform gives researchers the power to see more and,…
Park Systems completes equity investment in Molecular Vista
Park Systems, manufacturer of Atomic Force Microscopes (AFM), announces it has made an equity investment in Molecular Vista, based in San Jose, CA. Molecular Vista produces AFM tools to probe and understand matter at the molecular level through quantitative visualization using Infrared Photo-induced Force Microscopy (IR PiFM). PiFM is a combination of AFM and IR…