Melihat Dunia melalui sebuah Mikroskop (Bagian II)

Surface of tongue

“Scanning electron micrograph of the surface of the tongue, computer-coloured red/pink.”

Sperm developing in the testis

“Sperm develop in the seminiferous tubules of the testis. The spermatids are embedded in the Sertoli cells with their tails projecting into the lumen of the tubule. These spermatids are in the advanced stages of maturation. One of the spermatids has two tails tails (top right, green).”

Sperm on the surface of a human egg

“Numerous sperm trying to to fertilise a human egg. They are trying to find their way through the zona pellucida, the membrane that surrounds and protects the egg.”

Close-up of midge eye

Close-up of part of midge head

Pubic louse

Head of pubic louse

Claws of pubic louse

Stinging hairs on a nettle leaf

“The large stinging hairs are hollow tubes with walls of silica making them into tiny glass needles. The bulb at the base of each hair contains the stinging liquid that includes formic acid, histamine, acetylcholine and 5- hydroxytryptamine (serotonin). The tips of the glassy hairs are very easily broken when brushed, leaving a sharp point, which easily pierces the skin to deliver the sting.”

Comparative thickness of human hair

“This image shows the difference in thickness of human hair between different ethnic groups. The strand of hair on the left is that of a Caucasian blond female. The hair on the right is from an Asian male. Hair is normally comprised of three layers, the inner medulla, the cortex and the cuticle. The cuticle is the outermost layer and is comprised of numerous overlapping cells or scales. The cortex makes up the majority of the hair thickness. Interestingly, the inner medulla is not present in blond hair.”

Tooth

“Low power scanning electron microscope image of tooth surface, computer-coloured yellow on blue background.”

Nanowire

“Micrograph of a nanowire curled into a loop in front of a strand of human hair. The nanowires can be as slender as 50 nanometers in width, about one-thousandth the width of a hair.”

The nanowires could be used, in the near future, to link tiny components into extremely small circuits.

Shark skin

“An electron micrograph reveals sharkskin’s secret to speed: tooth-like scales called dermal denticles. Water “races through the microgrooves without tumbling,” says shark researcher George Burgess, reducing friction. “It’s like a fast-moving river current versus the gurgling turbulence of a shallow stream.” The scales also discourage barnacles and algae from glomming on – an inspiration for synthetic coatings that may soon be applied to Navy ship hulls to reduce such biofouling.” . They also give the shark’s skin the feel of sandpaper.