Cell nucleusThe cell nucleus (; : nuclei) is a membrane-bound organelle found in eukaryotic cells. Eukaryotic cells usually have a single nucleus, but a few cell types, such as mammalian red blood cells, have no nuclei, and a few others including osteoclasts have many. The main structures making up the nucleus are the nuclear envelope, a double membrane that encloses the entire organelle and isolates its contents from the cellular cytoplasm; and the nuclear matrix, a network within the nucleus that adds mechanical support.
Green fluorescent proteinThe green fluorescent protein (GFP) is a protein that exhibits bright green fluorescence when exposed to light in the blue to ultraviolet range. The label GFP traditionally refers to the protein first isolated from the jellyfish Aequorea victoria and is sometimes called avGFP. However, GFPs have been found in other organisms including corals, sea anemones, zoanithids, copepods and lancelets. The GFP from A. victoria has a major excitation peak at a wavelength of 395 nm and a minor one at 475 nm.
Endospore stainingEndospore staining is a technique used in bacteriology to identify the presence of endospores in a bacterial sample. Within bacteria, endospores are protective structures used to survive extreme conditions, including high temperatures making them highly resistant to chemicals. Endospores contain little or no ATP which indicates how dormant they can be. Endospores contain a tough outer coating made up of keratin which protects them from nucleic DNA as well as other adaptations.
Image segmentationIn and computer vision, image segmentation is the process of partitioning a into multiple image segments, also known as image regions or image objects (sets of pixels). The goal of segmentation is to simplify and/or change the representation of an image into something that is more meaningful and easier to analyze. Image segmentation is typically used to locate objects and boundaries (lines, curves, etc.) in images. More precisely, image segmentation is the process of assigning a label to every pixel in an image such that pixels with the same label share certain characteristics.
Vital stainA vital stain in a casual usage may mean a stain that can be applied on living cells without killing them. Vital stains have been useful for diagnostic and surgical techniques in a variety of medical specialties. In supravital staining, living cells have been removed from an organism, whereas intravital staining is done by injecting or otherwise introducing the stain into the body. The term vital stain is used by some authors to refer to an intravital stain, and by others interchangeably with a supravital stain, the core concept being that the cell being examined is still alive.
Silver stainingIn pathology, silver staining is the use of silver to selectively alter the appearance of a target in microscopy of histological sections; in temperature gradient gel electrophoresis; and in polyacrylamide gels. In traditional stained glass, silver stain is a technique to produce yellow to orange or brown shades (or green on a blue glass base), by adding a mixture containing silver compounds (notably silver nitrate), and firing lightly. It was introduced soon after 1800, and is the "stain" in the term "stained glass".
Total internal reflection fluorescence microscopeA total internal reflection fluorescence microscope (TIRFM) is a type of microscope with which a thin region of a specimen, usually less than 200 nanometers can be observed. TIRFM is an imaging modality which uses the excitation of fluorescent cells in a thin optical specimen section that is supported on a glass slide. The technique is based on the principle that when excitation light is totally internally reflected in a transparent solid coverglass at its interface with a liquid medium, an electromagnetic field, also known as an evanescent wave, is generated at the solid-liquid interface with the same frequency as the excitation light.
Cancer cellCancer cells are cells that divide continually, forming solid tumors or flooding the blood or lymph with abnormal cells. Cell division is a normal process used by the body for growth and repair. A parent cell divides to form two daughter cells, and these daughter cells are used to build new tissue or to replace cells that have died because of aging or damage. Healthy cells stop dividing when there is no longer a need for more daughter cells, but cancer cells continue to produce copies.
Super-resolution microscopySuper-resolution microscopy is a series of techniques in optical microscopy that allow such images to have resolutions higher than those imposed by the diffraction limit, which is due to the diffraction of light. Super-resolution imaging techniques rely on the near-field (photon-tunneling microscopy as well as those that use the Pendry Superlens and near field scanning optical microscopy) or on the far-field.
Romanowsky stainRomanowsky staining, also known as Romanowsky–Giemsa staining, is a prototypical staining technique that was the forerunner of several distinct but similar stains widely used in hematology (the study of blood) and cytopathology (the study of diseased cells). Romanowsky-type stains are used to differentiate cells for microscopic examination in pathological specimens, especially blood and bone marrow films, and to detect parasites such as malaria within the blood.
