The impressive image was taken as part of his master's thesis in the Zoology division under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Achim Paululat. In his thesis, Kai Jürgens is studying the structure and anatomy of the model organism Drosophila melanogaster, a species of the vinegar fly family. For this purpose, he dissects individual flies and photographs them with a scanning electron microscope (JEOL-JSM IT200). The images provide detailed insights into areas and structures that remain elusive to the human eye, even with the aid of light microscopy.
"The award in the JEOL photo competition honors the quality of the images," says Achim Paululat. Creating these is a real challenge, he says: "A perfect image can only be achieved after elaborate chemical pre-treatment of the specimens and by careful handling of the smallest biological samples."
However, the project does not only include the creation of the photos themselves. They will also be processed, annotated and published. The goal is to create a comprehensive handbook for other researchers to simplify the identification and annotation of anatomical structures.
