MSC-OSC

Dr. DiPasquale is the facility manager of the Canadian Neutron Beam Laboratory at @McMasterNuclear- home to Canada's largest nuclear research reactor. Join us and learn how neutron techniques enable advanced materials characterization ⚛️

Do you know photons and electrons aren't the only particles used in microscopy and microanalysis? Neutrons can do that too! Join us on March 26 to explore neutron scattering with Dr. Mitchell DiPasquale 🔗Register: tinyurl.com/3n2u3e99

📍 Image acquired on 𝐚 @zeiss_micro 𝐄𝐥𝐲𝐫𝐚 𝟕 𝐋𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐒𝐈𝐌 (63×, 1.4 NA oil objective) © P. Ray & A. Ferrand, University of Base

The image above displays a C. elegans larva imaged using Lattice Structured Illumination Microscopy. DNA appears in blue, apical junctions in yellow, and smFISH signal in magenta, revealing cellular organization beyond what conventional fluorescence microscopy can resolve.

#ItsMicroscopyMonday What if we could not only see biological cells, but also resolve their structure beyond the classical limits of light? From the light sheet microscopy (2004) to Nobel Prize–recognized super-resolution (2014), and more recently, expansion microscopy...

AFM measurements, collected at @icspicorp in Kitchener-Waterloo on a 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝘂𝘅 𝗔𝗙𝗠, highlight clear structural consequences of LytG inhibition. Want to learn more about AFM? Join us for our next webinar on 𝗙𝗲𝗯𝗿𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟭𝟮,𝟭:𝟬𝟬 𝗽𝗺: tinyurl.com/ycru9shm

Prof. Christopher Reid and his team at @BryantUniv investigated how antibiotic treatment alters cell-wall remodeling in Bacillus subtilis. In this study, the antibiotic masarimycin inhibits an autolysin involved in peptidoglycan remodeling during cell elongation and division.

It’s #MicroscopyMonday What happens to bacterial cell walls under antibiotic stress? Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) enables nanoscale characterization of biological surfaces, particularly for changes in surface morphology and roughness. Details in: doi.org/10.1039/D5CB00…

Qianshu presentation titled: “𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮 𝘁𝗼 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗻: 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼 𝘁𝗼 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗔𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗽𝘆” will happen on February 12, 2026 at 1 PM EST Attendees will be entered into a draw for a gift card

Curious how automated AFM can make surface imaging easier and faster? Join us for our next webinar, featuring Qianshu W., an Application Engineer at @icspicorp, where he’ll share his expertise in automated AFM. Register here: tinyurl.com/ycru9shm

It emerged unexpectedly during research aimed at extracting iron from ferritin, a common mammalian protein. The iron is used to grow carbon nanotubes for nano-biosensors for single-molecule detection —tools being explored for cancer screening and for studying molecular behaviour.

“𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐭” shows an ordinary grain of salt turned into a striking landscape of dendrites and crystallization islands, with a central crystal size of ~60 µm, all composed of salt. The image was captured using SEM at a magnification of 800x.

Beautiful microscopy images don’t come from perfect experiments; they might come from unexpected lab errors! This image was captured by Jean-Nicolas Deraspe from the Université de Montréal and was selected as a finalist in the 2025 NSERC Science Exposed. 👇 See the image below

Join us at the International Microscopy Student Mixer (ISM) on Wednesday, February 4, 2026, from 1 PM - 3 PM EST Register at the following link: tinyurl.com/yz4wpr77 Hosted by the yDGE, MSA StC, and the MSC-SMC Student Chapters

These kinds of issues show up frequently in routine microscope use, and they can quietly affect data quality. Improving image quality doesn’t necessarily require new equipment, but a more deliberate look at how the microscope is set up!

A useful tip from @zeiss_micro: when brightfield images don’t look right, the issue is often not the sample or the microscope itself, but small setup mistakes that remain unnoticed, especially those related to common objective lens setup. Sharing the document below.

Led by Arthur Blackburn, co-director of UVic’s Advanced Microscopy Facility, the team achieved this breakthrough using ptychography. This computational technique reconstructs high-resolution images from overlapping electron scattering patterns. Full paper: #Abs1" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">nature.com/articles/s4146…

Researchers at the University of Victoria have demonstrated a powerful new imaging approach that achieves sub-ångström resolution (0.67 Å) using a compact, low-energy SEM—a level of detail previously accessible only with large, high-cost TEMs.

The submission deadline is midnight on February 26. Submit your micrograph here: forms.gle/ErEha6f5abzkUw…

The Microscopy Society of Canada - Ontario Student Chapter is pleased to announce the 2026 Micrograph Contest! Participants can submit a micrograph for a chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card, plus custom stickers featuring the winning micrograph.