Micrographs Competition

Micrographs Competition :

The image competition is a unique opportunity to share with the community the beautiful worlds revealed by your kind of microscopy technique. As the emphasis is on the visually appealing rather than on the scientific aspect of the images, micrographs submitted to the competition can be colorized and manipulated. You are encouraged to be free and playful!

The winning micrograph will be posted on the ISM website and, if found suitable, may be used as a decoration for the next ISM meeting.

ISM will provide a hard copy of the image and present it during the meeting. You are free to take the hard copy after the meeting!

By applying to the competition all rights for using the images are given to ISM according to the ISM website terms of use, including the right to use the image on ISM’s site as part of its design (credit will be given).

The 2024 Micrographs :

1			SPACE TO BREATH Eyal Shimoni, Neta Varsano and Ori Brookstein Weizmann Institute of Science This artistic image was created to honor our dear friend and colleague, Eyal Shimoni, who passed away last year. As a longstanding member of the electron microscopy unit at the Weizmann Institute of Science and an active participant in the Israel Society for Microscopy (ISM), Eyal's impact on scientific research and many personal lives was immeasurable. Eyal obtained the original transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image used to create this artistic piece. The TEM image was taken from a silk gland's epithelial cell of the Bombyx mori silkworm (domesticated silkworm). The image presents the interior composition of the cell, which entails its various organelles and vesicles. The long striped structures visible in the image are called tracheal tubes. These tubes are part of the insect respiratory system, transporting air to its organs. The sample was prepared by high-pressure freezing of the posterior part of the silk gland, followed by a freeze-substitution procedure, epoxy embedding, and ultra-microtome sectioning for TEM imaging.
2			D. MELANOGASTER LARVA'S HEAD Alexandra Tsitrin Ben Gurion University of the Negev Autofluorescence of the chitin in red, DNA in green.
3			2D LAYERED PEROVSKITE SOLAR CELL Arindam Mondal Ben Gurion University of the Negev The collage SEM image depicts (a) Spin coated pin hole free 2D perovskites thin film with smooth surface, (b) Reduced Graphene oxide (rGO) was chemically exfoliated from graphite powder, (c) SEM cross-sectional image of the fabricated solar cell with rGO interlayer with m-TiO2.
4			GUANINE ROSE Dolev Brenman-Begin Weizmann Institute of Science The Image shows in-vitro-grown guanine crystals that aggregate into a beautiful rose-like structure. Formed with Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), these crystals emulate the natural process of templated nucleation, akin to the formation of biogenic guanine crystals on amyloid fibers. The image was captured using a scanning electron microscope. Scale bar: 2µm.
5			WEB OF CRYSTALS: SELF-ASSEMBLED SUPERSTRUCTURES ON A SURFACE Elad Gaver Weizmann Institute of Science This scanning electron microscopy (SEM) – energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) image shows superstructures comprised of nanosized metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). The superstructures form an intricate web-like pattern on a silicon wafer. Their formation includes drop-casting a solution with cubic MOFs followed by solvent evaporation. The silicon substrate (red) and the superstructures (black) show the aggregation behavior of the small crystals and their repulsion from the hydrophilic substrate. This observation offers insights into the controlled assembly of crystals and potential applications of MOFs in materials science.
6			DROPLETS Zipora Lansky, Olga Kleinerman and Keren Shabtay Technion - Israel Institute of Technology Oil droplets stabilized by nanoparticles in a Pickering emulsion as seen in a freeze-fractured sample imaged in cryo-SEM.
7			BREAKING BAD – "SHOVER SHUROT" Irit shoval, Alon Richter and Orit Shefi Bar Ilan University In this image, regenerating neurons of the medicinal leech have been cultured atop plates exhibiting nano-topographical patterns, specifically lines, to assess their impact on and guidance of neuronal regeneration. The study seeks to understand how these topographical cues that mimics natural cues, influence the directionality and efficacy of neuronal regrowth in the medicinal leech, offering insights into potential strategies for neural tissue engineering and regeneration. The 3D Light microscopy confocal image was acquired using Leica STED SP8 confocal microscope, x63 oil objective, 2 tiles and over 19 z stack over total volume of 5.37 µm.
8			ALIEN WITHIN FOAMED POLYMER Maria Khristosov Technion - Israel Institute of Technology Poly(urethane urea) from foaming during High Internal Phase Emulsion (HIPE) polymerization. ESEM Prisma E, Thermofisher. Taken by Dr. Maria Koifman Khristosov, Technion, sample provided by Shiri Maoz from Prof. Michael S. Silverstein's lab, Technion. Photoshop by Victor Khristosov.
9			WINTER Maria Khristosov Technion - Israel Institute of Technology Quercetin in acetate buffer, pH = 4.5, with apple pectin. ESEM Prisma E, Thermofisher. Taken by Dr. Maria Koifman Khristosov, Technion, Sample provided by Neta Caspin from Prof. Avi Shpigelman’s lab, Technion. Photoshop and AI manipulation by Victor Khristosov.
10			AI MUSHROOMS I Maria Khristosov Technion - Israel Institute of Technology Gold porous film on Paladium substrate. HRSEM Ultra Plus, Zeiss. Taken by Dr. Maria Koifman Khristosov, Technion. Photoshop and AI manipulation by Victor Khristosov.
11			AI MUSHROOMS II Maria Khristosov Technion - Israel Institute of Technology Gold porous film on Paladium substrate. HRSEM Ultra Plus, Zeiss. Taken by Dr. Maria Koifman Khristosov, Technion. Photoshop and AI manipulation by Victor Khristosov.
12			BEEN THERE, DUNE THAT Sapir Lifshiz-Simon Technion - Israel Institute of Technology TEM micrograph of a freeze-fracture replica (FFR) of the ionic liquid Akypo NaLF2 at 60 wt.% in water, showing a pattern of sand dunes. The specimen was prepared using the drops method, plunged into ethane at its freezing point, and fractured in the Leica ACE system. The drops were coated with platinum and carbon to form the replicas. The replicas were imaged using the Talos HR-TEM at room temperature.
13			WHEN YOU STARE INTO THE TOMATO, THE TOMATO STARES BACK AT YOU Sergey Mursalimov Volcani Institute - Agricultural Research Organization (ARO) These "eyes" staring at you in reality are two chromoplasts in a pericarp cell of a tomato fruit overexpressing an autophagy gene, imaged using transmission electron microscopy. Chromoplast is a special type of plastid that often originate from chloroplasts and contribute the red color of tomato fruits.
14			THE STARRY SKY ABOVE OUR HEADS AND THE AUTOPHAGOSOMES WITHIN US Sergey Mursalimov Volcani Institute - Agricultural Research Organization (ARO) These "stars" represent autophagosomes accumulated in Arabidopsis leaf cells, which were engineered to produce fluorescent protein and stained with a fluorescent membrane dye. Autophagy was chemically blocked, leading to the accumulation of autophagosomes that cannot be digested inside vacuoles. This image was captured using live imaging on a confocal laser scanning microscope.
15			STARRY NIGHT Shachar Keren Technion - Israel Institute of Technology This image presents star-shaped TiO2 micro-structures on top of 3D-printed ABS substrates, fabricated during ALD. Image was captured with a scanning electron microscope using SE detector.
16			OPTIC ILLUSION Tamara Brider, Olga Krichevski and Philip Nathaniel Ariel University The synthesized CsPbBr3 sample on Si wafer.
17			MICRO MATCHSTICKS Tamara Brider, Olga Krichevski and Philip Nathaniel Ariel University GaO nanorods grow on Gold nanoparticles.
18			CROSS-SECTION OF THE LEISHMANIA PARASITE FLAGELLUM Shahar Sofer Ben Gurion University of the Negev Leishmania parasites were fixed, dehydrated and polymerized into blocks and thin sections were produced by microtome. Sections were imaged using Talos TEM at BGU by Dr. Alex Upcher. In the micrograph, the typical microtubule arrangement of eukaryotic flagella is seen next to the paraflagellar rod unique to the Leishmania flagella.