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ISSN 2220-4962 (Print) MicrobeMicrobe ISSN 2220-4970 (Online) Volume 1, Number 10 October 2011 The Magazine for the HunterHunter Enthusiast Microscopist Microscopy Magazine http://www.microbehunter.com How to find Tardigrades A Beautiful Microscope Slide Aseptic techniques Some Lichen Terminology Lichen Microscopy Diatom Cities Tardigrade isolation Lichen Microscopy Radiolaria MicrobeHunter Microscopy Magazine - October 2011 - 1 ABOUT Microbehunter Microscopy Magazine ANNOUNCEMENT The magazine for the enthusiast microscopist MicrobeHunter Magazine is a non-commercial project. Visit the Forum! Volume 1, Number 10, October 2011 ISSN 2220-4962 (Print) It is now possible to discuss the individual articles ISSN 2220-4970 (Online) of the magazine. Every issue has a separate sub- Download: Microbehunter Microscopy Magazine can be down- forum for discussion. loaded at: http://www.microbehunter.com www.microbehunter.com/forum Print version: The printed version can be ordered at: http://microbehunter.magcloud.com Facebook Publisher and editor: Oliver Kim, Ziegeleistr. 10-3, A-4490 St.Florian, Austria Email: [email protected] Do you have any microscopy links to share? Web: http://www.microbehunter.com Do it here on facebook: Tel.: +43 680 2115051 www.facebook.com/microbehunter Text and image contributions by: Leonardo Balbi Rodney Brightwell Brudersohn (cc) Debivort (cc) Charles E. Guevara Mike Guwak CONTRIBUTE! Paul Hebert (cc) Oliver Kim J. Marqua (cc) Mike Shaw Write for Microbehunter! Anthony W. Thomas Please contribute both articles and pictures. 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Are you a teacher or lec- turer? Share your microscopic experiences from school or Editorial: Article and image submissions are welcome and should be sent to: [email protected]. university. This magazine is made by an enthusiast microsco- For submission guidelines, consult the website at: pist for other enthusiasts. Let‘s work together to make this http://www.microbehunter.com/submission project a successful one. Please send all contributions to: Disclaimer: Articles that are published in Microbehunter Micros- copy Magazine and the blog do not necessarily reflect the posi- [email protected] tion or opinion of the publisher. The publication of these articles does not constitute an endorsement of views they may express. You must own the copyright of the contributions and you re- Advice provided in Microbehunter Microscopy Magazine is pro- tain the copyright of all submitted articles and pictures. While vided as a service and neither the authors nor the publisher can be held liable and responsible for any errors, omissions or inac- we are not able to pay you for your efforts, we will, of course, curacies, or for any consequences (health, hardware, etc.) aris- give you full credit for your contributions. ing from the use of information of this magazine and the blog (or anything else). Conduct all lab work and (microscopy) hardware Guest Bloggers! Yes, guest blogging is also a possibility. modifications at your own risk and always follow the instructions of the manufacturers. Write microscopy-related blog posts, send them to me and I will publish them on the web site. Naturally, I’ll put a link to your blog. Condition: it must be original content and you must be the copyright holder of the text (obviously). When submit- ting articles, please indicate if you want to have them pub- Front Cover: lished on the blog or in the magazine (or both). Large image: Anthony Thomas Left image: Mike Shaw Middle: Mike Guwak Before submitting anything, please read the submissions Right: Leonardo Balbi page on the website: www.microbehunter.com/submissions. 2 - MicrobeHunter Microscopy Magazine - October 2011 CONTENTS 4 How to find Tardigrades Tardigrades, or water bears, are cute little creatures that can easily be observed with a stereo microscope. Mike Shaw 8 A Beautiful Microscope Slide Victorian microscope slides are not only nice to look at 4 from outside. Some of the specimens that they carry are at least as interesting to observe. Leonardo Balbi 8 11 Introductory Microscopy Projects for Children and Students Are you searching for simple microscopy projects for classrooms or children? Here is a list of ideas. Oliver Kim 12 Safety issues for Microscopists Safety first! Do you know which microorganisms can be found in your sample? Oliver Kim 15 Some Lichen Terminology 15 An understanding of basic mycological terminology is necessary to fully understand the anatomy of fungi and lichens. Oliver Kim 16 Microscopic observations of Lichens Lichens are fungi that live symbiotically with a photo synthetic partner. Who would have guessed that lichens can can be parasitically infected by other fungi as well? cc-by-sa Brudersohn Mike Guwak 20 20 Image Gallery 22 Diatom Cities If your freshwater field microscopy agenda “turns sour” - then it’s time to make some lemonade of the micros copy hike! Charles E. Guevara ) ( feather cover):Chicken (back puzzle the to Answer Gallus domesticus Gallus MicrobeHunter Microscopy Magazine - October 2011 - 3 HOW TO Water Bears Tardigrades, or water bears, are cute little creatures that can easily be observed with a stereo microscope. Mike Shaw ardigrades (figure 1) are micro- lection that was a hundred years old. scopic creatures that are a maxi- They’ve been frozen and defrosted, put Tmum of one millimeter in size, under pressure, subjected to very high but usually are found to be about half temperatures, and zapped with X-Rays. that size. These are little creatures that They come out alive and well. Just add live in moist lichen, moss, or leaf litter. water. They are harmless, and cute. Yes The easiest place to start is to find cute. They are often referred to as “Wa- some moist lichen, that the yellow fuzzy ter Bears” because they look like little stuff on a tree in your yard. Lichen bears with six puffy legs, and they have grows on the shady side of the tree Figure 1: Tardigrade from West claws that look like those a grizzly bear (figures 2-4). Orange, NJ would have. In fact, they have two eyes, Scrape some lichen into a paper bag, a nose and a mouth, kind of like a bear. an ordinary lunch bag, or perhaps an So how do you find them, how long do envelope. Don’t use plastic bags, be- Begin by finding a good tree with they live, what climates do they live in? cause the moisture in there will allow soft fluff that grows on the dark side of Those are some often asked questions. mold to grow, and looking at mold is a the tree. Besides trees, you can also They can live a hundred years, with- different science project! find tardigrades in moss. Go for the soft stand extreme heat and cold, and you The best lichen to collect is not that young moss. In figure 5, you can see find them everywhere. They protect hard crusty kind, shown in the bottom moss in all of its stages of growth, and themselves by going into a type of hi- picture. Sometimes the lichen is green- even some lichen growing with it. Tar- bernation called cryptobiosis. They roll ish yellow, the softer, the better. See the digrades like to hide in fluff, so that’s up into a dried little ball, and just stay picture in the bottom middle. This li- dormant, with no sign of life whatsoev- chen is fairly good. It is greenish yel- er. Scientists have rehydrated them low and soft. Figures 2-4: Yellow lichen on tree, from a piece of moss in a museum col- fluffier lichen on tree, hard crusty li- chen. 4 - MicrobeHunter Microscopy Magazine - October 2011 Figure 5: Moss in all of its stages. Figure 6: Lichen on brick. what to look for. Simply pull up some figure 6. It’s fine. Tardigrades are sure half inch of water, like a little bowl or clumps of moss and put it in a paper bag. to be in this lichen. water for a hamster. The “dish,” as we Again, use paper bags, not plastic Next, you will need a clear plastic will call it, does not have to be round. bags, when collecting moss and lichen, petri dish, or something like it. You Sprinkle some lichen into it, just a because that allows air to dry out what could use a clear plastic container, like tiny pinch. Remember, this is a micro- you have collected. You do not want the lid from a food container, the top of scopic journey, so a pinch is a ton of mold to grow on your moss or lichen, a little plastic box for cosmetics, a piece material under the microscope. Then and that’s what will happen in a plastic of cut of blister packaging that hangs on add some bottled water, again, just bag that is air tight. So always use the rack in the store.