Blog

Cheek cells are one of the easiest types of human cells to observe under a microscope. A simple sample collected from the inside of the cheek can reveal individual cells, their boundaries, cytoplasm and nuclei, providing a close-up look at the basic structures that make up the human body. Under a microscope, human cheek cells typically appear as thin, flat, irregularly shaped cells with a clearly …

A dissecting microscope, also called a stereo microscope, is designed for viewing larger, three-dimensional objects at relatively low magnification. Instead of examining thin specimens mounted on microscope slides, a dissecting microscope allows you to look at the surface of objects such as insects, plants, rocks, circuit boards, manufactured components and other solid specimens. The combination o …

Choosing a microscope for a clinical or medical laboratory starts with a simple question: What do you need to see? A microscope used for routine examination of prepared slides may be very different from one used to observe living cells, analyze blood smears, identify crystals or capture fluorescence images. Magnification matters, but factors such as contrast method, objectives, illumination, sampl …

When shopping for a microscope, it's easy to assume that bigger numbers mean better performance. You'll often see microscopes advertised with magnifications of 2000x or even 2500x, making it sound like more magnification automatically lets you see more. The reality is different. The best microscope isn't the one with the highest magnification. It's the one that provides the right combination of ma …