Nothing like breaking in the Phenom XL SEM with some images of bacteria being used in research by two Capstone students in Biomedical Science.  These are of spores and crystals made by a Bacillus cereus transgenic strain expressing the Bacillus thuringiensis entomodical protein that forms the bipyramidal crystals seen in the image (spores are oblong structures roughly the same size as the crystals).  In layman’s terms, we have images of a bacterium that forms spores and a crystal toxin that kills insects.

These were test images of an SEM prep protocol, and we didn’t expect to find much.  However, Phenom had its own ideas – showing off!  We believe further experimentation into the sample prep methods will allow us to make huge improvements to the quality of our images.

I think with every use of the SEM, we find greater confidence that it will enhance every student’s research by providing publication-quality SEM images to showcase their study of nature.