Topical news: Nikon's Small World 2001. There's still time to enter this famous optical photomicrography competition which is open to both professional and amateur microscopists; 35mm slide and/or digital entries are accepted. Follow the link above to learn more and view some of the stunning images that have won in the past. Also take time to browse the MicroscopyU host site which has a wealth of exciting microscopy resources.

How to look at a pair of mecia: Part II Richard Howey (USA) continues his fascinating series on paramecia. Part II includes an overview of lighting techniques and what features each can reveal in Paramecium, as well as some guidelines on microscope purchase.

Photomicrography of fur mites When the family's pet rat became mite infested, Howard Webb (USA) took a closer look. The author shares a simple method for collecting and mounting the fur mites and also describes his experiences using a Kodak DC3200 digicam on a microscope with a homemade adapter.

A refreshing device for heat sensitive critters Jean-Marie Cavanihac (France) describes a neat project to build a cooling chamber for organisms while studying them under the microscope.

Image gallery Jeremy Poole (UK) shares some splendid macro and microscopic images he has taken; includes some excellent spider close-ups.

Build a simple aquarium objective for your microscope Marly Cain-Fryman and Randy Cain (US) describe this ingenious project, built with readily available materials, to view images directly from within a pond sample. Article hosted on the 'Beyond Magazine' web site. 

The eye and the microscope Paul James (UK) shares some thoughts concerning our eyes and illumination methods when observing through the microscope.

Further macro and microscopic images taken with an Olympus D-360L digicam David Young (USA) shares some images of his local plant and animal life and demonstrates how well a consumer digicam and basic compound microscope can give fine images.

Why ticks are so tricky  Wim van Egmond (the Netherlands) looks at some of the fascinating macro and microscopic features of a tick that make it such a 'tricky' pest; with a caution on their less fascinating features! A version with 3D images is also available.

Trials with an Emoscop on a digital camera Dave Walker (UK) tries extending the macro performance of his Fuji DX-10 by mounting the Emoscop^®, a multifunctional hand lens/microscope, on the camera front.
 

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