Tranquil mountains, lush forests, and twinkling sapphire seas are captivatingly beautiful, but the beauty found in nature is not limited to things seen with the naked eye. Tiny living cells and fluorescence imaging display unique beauty under the microscope.
We began holding the annual Image of the Year Award in 2018 to encourage more people to discover the wonders of the microscopic world and share them around the world.
One researcher capturing this microscopic splendor is Jia Mingyue. She works at the Optical Imaging Facility of the Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing, and she used her microscopic imaging expertise to reveal enchanting colors hidden in plants. Jia won an honorable mention in our Image of the Year 2021 contest for her autofluorescence image of Polygala sibirica, a flowering plant with purple flowers typically found on mountain slopes.
Polygala sibirica captured by Jia Mingyue. This stunning autofluorescence image won an honorable mention in our Image of the Year 2021 contest.
Jia explained, “This is a flower from above, showing the morphology of the petals. I love how it looks like a hummingbird when you turn it 90 degrees.” This image was captured using a confocal microscope and was rendered using maximum projection.
When asked about Olympus microscopes, Jia highlighted their high-quality imaging and optics, as well as intuitive features.
"I often run into Olympus microscopes in my professional life. Their intuitive design makes it very easy to learn how to use them." — Jia Mingyue
In her daily work, Jia often uses a whole slide scanning system with a heavily-optimized resolution and uniform fluorescence illumination with a bright LED light source to make precise color reproduction possible.
This setup helps her capture the exact images she wants. The system configuration is flexible and consists of a free assembly of five observation methods: brightfield, darkfield, fluorescence, phase contrast, and polarized light, revealing even fine microstructures that are only visible under certain conditions. Cumbersome workflows are a thing of the past thanks to the robust AI system.
Interpreting the Mysteries of Life
“Through the microscope, a world hidden to the naked eye is revealed, and the wonders of this world are waiting to be discovered by those who put the effort in to look.” — Jia Mingyue
Optical imaging systems are essential to life science research, regardless of whether you're trying to explore the microscopic world or uncover the mysteries of mechanisms.
Jia explained, “My profession places me at the intersection of life science and optical imaging, and the more experience I gain the more I appreciate how life science and optical systems support and complement each other. Optical systems are one of the ultimate tools to uncover the microscopic world and analyze the smaller mysteries of life.”
Evident is committed to helping researchers and scientists advance their work through advanced microscopy systems for life science, clinical research, and education. We’re happy we can inspire creativity as well with the beautiful images showcased in our annual Image of the Year contest. As the fifth annual competition wraps up, stay tuned for the announcement of our Image of the Year winners this fall!
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