Gail McConnell

Extracting biological structure and heterogeneity from the nano to the macro scale Fluorescence microscopy is an essential tool in biology. It has revealed great variability at multiple scales, in macromolecular complexes, cells, and organisms. Understanding this variability will re...

How do you quantify cell structures which are deformed between different observations? Our preprint shows how to perform Simultaneous QUAntification of Structure and Structural Heterogeneity (SQUASSH) on 3D fluorescence microscopy data. (1/5)
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

A huge thank you to the #SOMC25 organisers!

I have enjoyed the lectures, the discussions, and seeing so many systems in action. It has pushed my knowledge of optical microscopy beyond expectations. (Plus the image prize!)

I had a fantastic time!💫

After 10 packed days of optical microscopy theory & practicals, #SOMC25 is over!

🌍 24 students from around the world
🧑‍🏫 19 internationally renowned lecturers
🧑‍🔧 16 supportive sponsors
🔬 14 hands-on advanced practical sessions
🏆 4 poster & image prizes
🪼 1 field trip to collect marine specimens

A coffee and a lecture from @superresolusian.bsky.social at the Strathclyde Optical Microscopy Course is one of my happy places #SOMC25

TY!
@albascientific.bsky.social
@the.3i.social
@zeiss-microscopy.bsky.social
@hamamatsucorp.bsky.social
@instituteofphysics.bsky.social
@picoquant.bsky.social
@royalmicrosoc.bsky.social
@tomocube.bsky.social
@biologists.bsky.social
Nikon
Evident
NorthernLightMicroscopy
PhotonLines
PhotonicSolutions

Our final activity of #SOMC25 Day 4 is an image analysis lecture and workshop led by @beatricebo.bsky.social from the Cancer Research Scotland Institute.

Great first week at #SOMC25, learning microscopy basics through lectures and practicals. We spent today collecting samples on the Isle of Cumbrae ready for week 2!

Field trip day at #SOMC25 - we took a trip to the Isle of Cumbrae to collect specimens to image for the rest of the course.

Tide pooling, beach combing, diatom netting, copepod fishing, crustacean hunting, and jelly junking. 🌊🪼🦀

Day 2 of #SOMC25 kicks off with Lecture 1 from Brad Amos with an Overview of Optical Microscopy.

Starting with the question: does the microscopist need to understand physics?

Day 2 Lecture 2 of #SOMC25 delivered by David McKee (@physicsstrath.bsky.social) on Ray and Wave Optics. 🌈🔬

Rounding off the day with Lecture 3 of #SOMC25 with Polarisation, Interference and Diffraction delivered by @muellenbroich.bsky.social, featuring sunglasses-adorned Brewster and a young(er) @ralfmbauer.bsky.social.

The Strathclyde Optical Micoscopy Course #SOMC25 kicked off today - 10 days of practical light microscopy training with 24 students from around the world!

From fundamental & advanced lectures, to hands-on workshops with high end systems, & a field trip to the Isle of Cumbrae, it will be great! 🔬

Drowning Doesn’t Look Like Drowning Drowning is not the violent, splashing call for help that most people expect.

Thanks for the reminder @janemunday.bsky.social. Every summer, I repost this article DROWNING DOES NOT LOOK LIKE DROWNING. To date, I know of FOUR kids who were saved after someone who'd clicked on the link learnt how to spot actual drowning. Take time to read and pass on.

slate.com/technology/2...

Update: David Roberts, postdoc in my lab, tested the GraceBio GeneFrame substitute. A few quirks but extremely promising. Good: B. subtilis cells grew quite happily in overnight time lapse. Growth rate comparison to GeneFrames not done yet but in the works.

Improved contrast transmission stereomicroscopy using a low-cost 3D printed optical element! 🔬🧫🐟🧅 More details in our preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

🚨New pre-print out now!🚨

We 3D printed a large optical element that enhanced the illumination, contrast & image quality in transmission stereomicroscopy. This simple addition to the illumination path lets us detect refractive structures & dynamics unobserved by conventional stereomicroscopy.
(1/5)

This session has been one of the best attended and most scientifically diverse at previous mmc events - promote your most exciting, hot-out-of-the-lab results by submitting an abstract today! @royalmicrosoc.bsky.social @rmsearlycareer.bsky.social

New paper from the group - here we show that aurodox prevents shiga toxin mediated damage in a murine model. Interesting changes to the microbiota too. Amazing work by @rebeccamchugh.bsky.social and the group.

Paper here- rdcu.be/efW0K

Fellow bacterial cell biologists, message me if you use @thermofishersci.bsky.social Gene Frames for microscopy!
Thermo are planning to discontinue these in September but have indicated they will look into this further.
If I make list of labs using them Thermo might not kill the product
Please RT🔬🦠

We use these, as does @liam-rooney.bsky.social

Abstract Submission Abstract submission has now closed. You can now submit a late breaking abstract through Oxford Abstracts.

Missed the mmc conference abstract deadline but eager to present your latest work? Fear not! Late and Breaking abstracts open until Friday 2 May. More information here: www.mmc-series.org.uk/conference/a... @royalmicrosoc.bsky.social

Image of 3T3-L1 cells stained with ActinGreen, imaged with a laser scanning fluorescence microscope

Are you fed up wasting time and photons in laser scanning microscopy? Our latest work, PerfectlyAverage, can help to determine optimal parameters for line and frame averaging while considering photobleaching. More information in our preprint! 🔬 bit.ly/PerfectlyAve...

1 week left to submit for the Imaging Host-Pathogen Interactions session @ mmc'25!

@rebeccamchugh.bsky.social & I are organising a @microbiologysociety.org sponsored session w/ invited speakers, Jessica Mark Welch @adaforsyth.bsky.social & Lara Hundsdorfer @unituebingen.bsky.social 🧪🔬

#MicroSky

Just a start! Who's missing?

go.bsky.app/LAA7Sdx

An image analyst position is available in our microscope facility. Please share!

Printing, Characterising, and Assessing Transparent 3D Printed Lenses for Optical Imaging The production of high-quality lenses for optical instrumentation has involved subtractive manufacturing methods for centuries. These methods have demanded specialist equipment and expertise that ofte...

UV curing, a spin coat after printing (details in www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...), and we’re printing optics of all shapes and sizes, so watch this space!

🔊Some great opportunities from the Journal of Microscopy for Early Career Researchers (£200 prize for best paper!!)🔬
#earlycareer #microscopy #science

Applications close today for the Strathclyde Optical Microscopy Course 2025! Apply at www.centreforbiophotonics.com/somc25 #Microscopy #ECRChat #MicroSky

Rhiannon Harrison (friend of a friend) is working on a dissertation on female football fandom of both men's and women's football. She's looking for female football fans to complete the attached survey. Please consider taking 10 mins to help Rhiannon out.
forms.office.com/pages/respon...

After the excitement of #BIOS at #PhotonicsWest, a change of venue to visit Professor Jen Dionne at Stanford and present our latest work on mesoscale imaging of host-pathogen interactions 🦠🧫🔬