World microscope day: the medium for knowledge
Infinitely small is the world that a microscope can observe but infinitely large is the knowledge gained through microscopes.
For this reason, World Microscope Day is celebrated on April 13th each year.
Credits: microbeco.org
A dip in history
The exact date of birth of the microscope is not known, but around 1600, the idea began to emerge that it was worthwhile to observe what was beyond the visible. It was probably Hans and Zacharias Janssen who sketched out one of the first microscopes. The “mysterious” instrument was immediately used to appreciate certain details of nature and study the plant and animal world. Confirming this, 1665 was the year when scientist Robert Hooke used the instrument to observe plant structure by recognizing some small and repeated compartments that he called “cells”.
Meanwhile, the enormous curiosity of Antoni Van Leeuwenhoek, a Dutch textile merchant, prompted him to build lenses to observe the textiles he sold. As he refined the instrument he was able to observe particular beings he called “animacula”; that was the first observation of what we now know to be bacteria. Then followed Leibniz and other scientists who glimpsed in the microscope the enormous potential it hid.
Credits: Anders Illum
The beauty of microscopy
Not only has the microscope allowed us to learn about what is beyond the human eye, thanks to it we have also been able to learn about a new art form where structures, details and colors intertwine to give us wonderful images.
There are numerous exhibitions and artists who delight in depicting the microscopic world, and in this regard Nikon’s Small World is considered the main forum for showing the beauty and complexity of life as seen through the microscope.
1st Place at 2022 Photomicrography Competition
Credits: Dr. Grigorii Timin and Dr. Michel Milinkovitch – NIkon’s Small World.
World Microscope Day
Most of science as we know it today would be unknown to us without the help of the microscope. Time and knowledge from numerous disciplines such as optics and engineering has enabled us to understand the ways in which lenses serve as a bridge between the visible and the invisible.
Science communicator. I deal with outreach and dissemination for research projects. My skills range from social media management to organising festivals and events.
My degree in biology has led me to focus on communicating microbial ecology for MicrobEco.
I am passionate about graphics, design and data visualisation.