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Moth Wing Scales
Date Issued: 2023-08-10
Postage Value: 0 cents

Commemorative issue
Life Magnified
Moth Wing Scales

Using microscopes and specialized photographic techniques, the stamp images capture details of red blood cells, the feather of a macaw, a knotted strand of human hair, moss leaves, diatom shells, freshwater protozoans, an acorn barnacle, a moth’s antenna, the front foot of a diving beetle, neurons from a mouse’s brain, bone tissue from a starling, scales on the wing of a Madagascan sunset moth, a juvenile zebrafish, mushroom gills, the tongue of a freshwater snail, a blue button (similar to a jellyfish), mold spores, the legs of a barnacle, flame lily pollen, and the surface of a southern live oak leaf.

 
Shown here are moth wing scales.
 
For hundreds of years, scientists have held deep fascination with making the invisible elements of our world visible. Development of more refined microscope techniques over several centuries brought smaller and smaller components of life into focus. By the 20th century, microscopes had become ubiquitous in laboratories around the globe. Electron microscopes are now essential tools in several scientific fields.
 
The images that result from microscope-based research show, in exquisite detail, the phenomena of life. Stunning on their own as works of art, these images also hold scientific significance. Daniel Castranova’s photograph of a juvenile zebrafish, for instance, reveals the presence of lymphatic vessels within the fish’s skull, previously never observed in the skulls of non-mammals. This groundbreaking discovery may help scientists form a better understanding of human diseases.
 
Microscopists use a variety of techniques to capture the beauty of their subjects.
 
Confocal microscopy scans a specimen to create several optical sections of the subject. The images are then stacked to provide an extended depth of field for a three-dimensional reconstruction.
 
The Köhler illumination technique eliminates uneven lighting in the viewable area of a microscope lens. Fluorescence imaging uses special dyes that are absorbed by a sample to fluoresce color when excited by high intensity lighting, making the sample glow.
 
By incorporating aesthetic appeal into the ways they present their research, scientists have created images equally suited for a gallery wall as for a scientific journal. Their work reveals the grandeur of life at an infinitesimal scale.
 
Topics: Forever Stamp (1030)  Insects (59)  Science/Scientists (128)  

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