You may have noticed that there was no case last Monday. This is because I was off on vacation to Yellowstone National Park - a final destination that didn't work out after all due to the government shutdown. That was a bit of a let down to say the least. However, we hit several amazing state parks including Hot Springs state park in Wyoming, and I was able to sample the water for thermophilic free-living organisms. Here are some photos and videos of our trip (yes, I really did bring a microscope along on my vacation):
The hot springs:
(notice the steam coming off the water in the second shot)
And what I found (taken with an un-mounted iPhone, so not the best quality):
5 comments:
You are amazing, Bobbi! A parasitologist beyond compare.
BW in Vt
Looks a lot like C. elegans! Glad you got a chance to see a few parks despite Yellowstone being closed.
When you travel, what sort of microscope do you take?
--bks
Dear BKS,
I have a relatively cheap scope that I bring with me sometimes. It's a AmScope 40X-2000X (Biological Binocular Compound Microscope with Mechanical Stage) that was about $200 on Amazon. The objectives and lighting are nowhere as nice as the scope in my office (but then again I have a lovely scope at work and am quite spoiled by it) but it does everything I need it to and is great for the price. The objectives go from 4x to 100x. I also have some colleagues who have found very nice (and even higher quality) used microscopes on Ebay for about the same price. The only risk there is that the seals on the objectives do break down over time - esp. the ones that use oil - and they're very expensive to replace. Therefore, I decided not to risk a used scope and went for a new one instead. Hope that helps!
That is how you go on vacation...
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