It has long been appreciated that communication between the nucleus and the cytoplasm of a cell occurs through the nuclear pores. Regulation of this communication has remained a mystery. A breakthrough in our understanding of this regulation was recently presented by Carmen Perez- Terzic, Jason Pyle, Marisa Jaconi, Lisa Stehnc-Bittel, and David Clapham of Mayo Clinic. Using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy (AFM), they demonstrated the presence of a small plug within the nuclear pore that was present under certain physiologic circumstances. This “plug“ may regulate the movement of molecules through the pore.

The ribosome is the protein synthetic machinery in the cell. Knowledge of the structures of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) macromolecules in situ is essential to understanding their roles in ribosome mediated protein synthesis. We are using a microanalytical technique that identifies and maps elements directly, electron spectroscopic imaging, to determine the rRNA phosphorus distributions within Escherichia coli ribosomal subunits, and to combine the two-dimensional maps into a three-dimensional elemental distribution by iterative quaternion-assisted angular reconstitution of ribosomal particles at random orientations.

The world of forensic microscopy is complex and challenging. There is a never-ending variety of requested examinations and consequently, the analyst is often asked to work in an area of little familiarity. Adding to the challenge is the inherent problem of having no exact information as to the condition of the sample prior to the crime. The forensic microscopist is expected to have mastered proficiency in polarized light microscopy in order to identify fibers, minerals, insect parts, woods, metals, biological fluids, pollution particles, microchemical techniques, paints, pigments, pollens, drugs, explosives, diatoms, safe insulation, etc. and to compare samples of all the these plus hairs, glass, etc., etc.

Ever since electron microscopes were developed, it has been the goal of microscopists to observe specimens in their natural state, free from artefacts which can often be introduced through specimen preparation. For most biological specimens, that includes the presence of water. With a pressure of 10-4 torr or lower required to operate a scanning electron microscope (SEM), liquid water, which required a pressure of above 5 torr, was clearly a problem.

Although several attempts had been made to examine hydrated specimens in a SEM, the first published results of water imaged in a stable and reproducible manner in the SEM, were presented at the Eighth International Congress on Electron Microscopy in Canberra in 1974 (Robinson, 1974).