For more than two years now we have scoured water bodies and mosses, and soaked edible and non-edible lichen, in quest of the elusive tardigrades. With the onset of monsoons in Hyderabad, it seemed like a promising time to search for these ‘moss piglets’. That is how one Saturday afternoon, while looking for plants at…
Category: Environment
Environmental observations (observations in the field, pollution etc).
Insight into Parasites – A ‘101’ on Viruses
(A small write-up, written by my batchmates and I. Decided to post this here. Hope you enjoy reading it :D) _____ While we’ve been locked in our houses due to the COVID-19 pandemic and are wondering when life will be back to normal, we are reminded again and again that a tiny virus has brought…
Stomata in succulent leaves
At the peak of summer, the potted plants in my balcony get an extra dose of sunlight! One of these plants is the Ceylon spinach (Talinum fruticosum). I noticed that during summer its leaves are curled up most of the time. I guessed the excess of sunlight or wet soil may be the cause. I…
Chlorella (green algae) from stagnant water
Not only is this my first post on Microcosmos, it’s my first day using the AMAZING Foldscope! I collected a sample of slightly green stagnant water from beautiful Pt. Defiance Park here in the Pacific Northwest. It’s so cool to see the rolling sphere shaped Algae! I wish I could upload a video for you…
Exploration of COVID 19 Pandemic: A summary of Science in various masks during 21 Days Lockdown
Today I am posting a post on various surgical masks that were used by everyone during the lockdown for protection against COVID 19 virus. In general, humans who are not affordable for purchasing masks for regular usage inside the home, as well as outside premises. To protect the COVID 19 disease most of the middle…
Wonder-worms in a pedestal pond
One fine spring morning, my nephew called me to show something ‘interesting’ in a pedestal pond in our housing society. When I reached there, I saw a beautiful lotus blooming and some dry lotus leaves around (they looked curled up or folded). It seemed that they were being stitched together to make a home… wonder…
Foldoscoping on the day of Janata Curfew
what better way to celebrate the Janata Curfew inside the home? During the day of Janata curfew to destroy the Carona virus from India, Prime minister Narendra Modi started a journey on 22 March 2020. To celebrate this event we students with Ms. Sri Lakshmi, Ms. Purandarswari under the guidance of Dr. Vemuri srs Praveen…
Water currents in the microcosmos
Watching different water samples under the Foldscope, I was fascinated by the variety of constantly active minute organisms, each with their unique ways of capturing food. Their feeding process, driven by tiny cilia, creates competing water currents on a single glass slide. Each minute animal makes its own whirlpool to suck food into its mouth…
Schools closed; kids staying home.. Foldscope on!
By now, everybody knows about the pandemic that has sweeped the world – Convid-19, a viral infection that is spreading like wild fire. While these are trying times and we all must do our part to #flattenthecurve – stay at home and isolate yourself as much as possible – you don’t have to stop exploring….
Microfauna around lichens
My friend Chandrika brought me a sample of these beautiful lichens from Bangalore, with the hope of finding Tardigrades in them. We soaked one of the samples in RO water. After 5-6 hours, with great enthusiasm I started to hunt for tardigrades but no luck! In every single sample I observed, that very familiar guest…
Hello :) I am a New User – Africa Coffee Anna
Hello Foldscope community My name is Anna Kim from currently working in Coffee Sector in Rwanda, D.R Congo, Ethiopia, and Burundi. I am so excited to use foldscope in Coffee sectors and will share some results here. I have zero background in Science stuff but let’s see how we can find something and use this…
Hallway House Dust
Cropped image of house dust sampled on a piece of clear tape, showing a diagonal hair and some blue (clothing?) fibres, along with unidentified other microparticles. Uncropped full field view of dust sample
Iridescent Scales of Common Jay Butterfly.
Biology, Nature. Where do butterflies get their striking colors? Wing of a Common Jay (Graphium doson) Papilionidae . Butterflies actually get their colors from Ordinary(pigmented) and Structural color The ordinary comes from pigments Structural color is due to Iridescence
कांदा/ प्याज़/ Onion through the Foldscope
कांदा माइक्रोस्कोप मधून कसा दिसतो? प्याज़ माइक्रोस्कोप में से कैसा दीखता है? How does onion looks through the Foldscope? Photos taken with d Foldscope.
कढीपत्ता/ करीपत्ता/ Curry leaf through the Foldscope
कढीपत्ता माइक्रोस्कोप मधून कसा दिसतो? करीपत्ता माइक्रोस्कोप में से कैसा दीखता है? How do Curry leaves look through the Foldscope? 3rd picture is backside of leaf, stomata is also visible. Photos taken with d Foldscope.
टोमेटो/ टमाटर/ Tomato through the Foldscope
टोमेटो माइक्रोस्कोप मधून कशे दिसते? टमाटर माइक्रोस्कोप में से कैसे दीखता है? How does tomato looks through the Foldscope? Photos taken with Foldscope. Tomato came to India in 16th century n became integral part of Indian cuisines.
Pond Sample Discovery
Recently, while in Hanmer, New Zealand, I took a water sample from the pond is Chisholm Park. After a bit of peering through my foldscope, I discovered this micoorganism that I at first thought was algae, the same as the surrounding plant matter. I then saw it move forward in a smooth, sliding fashion, leading…
Newspaper coverage of Foldscope Project workshops
Indo-US Foldscope project is an attempt to bring the science to every corner of the country. In this regard, Barkatullah University, Bhopal has been given the project for conducting research work and workshops for introducing Foldscope to the students of schools, colleges, universities, NGO etc. During the project, several workshops have been held and some…
Back to the Algae Sample: Strange Microorganism With Legs
Earlier in the month I put up a post showing some microorganisms I found in a sample I took from our horse’s water feeder that currently sprouts algae from every underwater surface, which were later identified as bdelloid rotifers by members of the community. Today I returned to the water feeder and took another sample,…
COMMON ALGAE
STUDENT NAMES: Keenisha, Jasmine, Pradeepthi, Suratha, Deekshitha and Jaanvi COLLEGE/SCHOOL: CMR National PU College, ITPL, Bangalore. SPECIMEN: Blue Bottle fly SPECIMEN OBSERVED AT: CMR National PU College at ITPL, Bangalore on 6th January 2020 We collected a sample of common algae growing in the gardens of our college and observed it under foldscope
BROWN MARMORATED STINK BUG
STUDENT NAMES: Keenisha, Jasmine, Jaanvi, Suratha, Deekshitha and Pradeepthi COLLEGE/SCHOOL: CMR National PU College, ITPL, Bangalore. SPECIMEN: Brown Marmorated stink bug SPECIMEN OBSERVED AT: CMR National PU College at ITPL, Bangalore on 6th January 2020 We found this bug in our college campus and observed its various parts under foldscope
Strange Microorganisms in Algae Sample
Noticing the algae covering the sides of the water feeder for our horse, I decided to take a sample and see if I could spot any microorganisms under the foldscope. As it turned out, I was in luck!I first noticed the creature on the right because of the strange mouth-like appendage at its centre, that…
One Day National Level Twinning programme On Use Of The Foldscope As A Research And Education Tool
Mr.S.Rajkumar (principal Investigator(PI) –Foldscope project work) HOD, Department of Biotechnology,Don Bosco College,Maram conducted a “ONE DAY NATIONAL LEVEL Twinning programme ON USE OF THE FOLDSCOPE AS A RESEARCH AND EDUCATION TOOL” on 17th June,2019 at Adiparasakthi college,Vellore,Tamil Nadu.
Papilio demoleus
Students name : Shilpa , Bharathi, Leelavathi College name:CMR National PUcollege, ITPL, Bengalore Specimen: Papilio demoleus(lime butterfly) Parts observed under foldscope: Proboscis, Wing dust, scales on wings& antenna Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropods Class: Insect Order: Lepidoptera Family: Papilionidae Genus : papilio Species: P. demoleus Description: The lime swallowtail, Papilio demoleusLinnaeus, is sometimes called the chequered…
Workshop on “Outreach Workshop on Usage of Foldscope” conducted by BMS College of Engineering for classes VII and VIII school students at Bengaluru, Karnataka on February 14th 2019
A series of two workshops were conducted on use of Foldscope as an awareness program, by BMS College of Engineering, Bengaluru. The First Workshop was conducted on February 14th 2019 in the morning session at Government Higher Primary School,Sunkadakatte,for class VII and VIII students. Around 40 students participated. The resource person were Prof N.Prathibha from…
Door to door foldscope campaign to expose children to the microorganisms in the surrounding environment
Door to door foldscope campaign to expose children to the microorganisms in the surrounding environment in the rural areas of Rajaborari estate, Hardha district, Madhya Pradesh