Tangible Item in Research

Jen Yokoyama
Post #2

Microscope Slides

Scientists use microscope slides all the time, but they don't really think about how integral these little glass sheets are to opening the gate to another world, a world that we would not have access to if microscope slides didn't exist.  Microscope slides are the platforms microscopic organisms or parts of organisms go on, and with the help of the microscope, we are able to see bacteria, spores, parts of living systems that we cannot see with the naked eye.  They are fragile, thin enough to crack if dropped lightly on the ground, but despite how delicate they are, they have allowed past and present scientists to make discoveries that benefited humankind as a whole, like the discovery of certain viruses and bacteria.

In my BIOL 172 lab, we work a lot with microscopes and microscope slides, viewing different parts of organisms.  Yesterday, we focused on observing different parts of different kinds of plants, and I had a little epiphany when looking at the pollen grains of hibiscus flowers.  Without any magnification, all you see is yellow specks, so small that they are almost invisible.  But, when I put them on the microscope slide and looked at them under the microscope, it was like the pollen turned into different entities.  They were big golden-yellow circles, and I was very surprised to see red and black strands around the yellow circles.  I was curious about these: what were they and what purpose did they serve?  Were they even supposed to be there?

Microscope slides are a part of a whole system, made up of many different scientific tools and equipment, and of course, the scientists themselves.  It's comparable to a system of cogs and wheels.  Without a certain part, the system will not work.  The system that allows us to see the world of microscopic organisms cannot function if one part of it is missing, especially the microscope slide.