Keerthi Padmanabhan

<img alt="Forsythia Pollen" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-15013 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="15013" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1458487884","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"32","shutter_speed":"0.0026041666666667","title":"","orientation":"6"}' data-image-title="Forsythia Pollen" data-recalc-dims="1" height="225" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_14318/Forsythia-pollen.jpg" width="300"/>


 I saw 2 pollen samples- One from a Forsythia (
 
 Forsythia suspensa
 
 )  flower, and another from a Pansy  (
 
 Viola tricolor
 
 ) flower.  When observing the pollen from the Forsythia, I noticed little bubble like shapes under  the microscope.  I observed that there we a numerous amount of them and that they were densely packed together. This picture is a zoomed out with hundreds of pollen in the slide.


 After that I viewed the pollen from the Pansy flower. Carefully I transferred the pollen from the flower to the slide,  to discover something I had never seen before.


 <img alt="Pansy pollen" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-15014 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="15014" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1458489533","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"32","shutter_speed":"0.033333333333333","title":"","orientation":"1"}' data-image-title="Pansy pollen" data-recalc-dims="1" height="225" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_14318/pansy-pollen.jpg" width="300"/>


 First, I saw the same bubble-like shapes as the pollen in the Forsythia. Then I moved and angled my Foldscope, I saw pink strands merging with the bubble-like shapes. I had never seen this before. So, I looked up what these”string-like” things m Iay be. I later found that these are cone shaped epidermal hairs that are called “trichomes”.  I  also learned that
 
 Trichomes
 
 
 serve
 
 
 a
 
 
 variety
 
 
 of
 
 
 functions,
 
 
 depending
 
 
 on
 
 
 their
 
 
 location.
 
 
 As
 
 
 root
 
 
 hairs
 
 
 (and
 
 
 as
 
 
 leaf
 
 
 hairs
 
 
 in
 
 
 epiphytes),
 
 
 trichomes
 
 
 absorb
 
 
 water
 
 
 and
 
 
 minerals.
 
 
 As
 
 
 leaf
 
 
 hairs,
 
 
 they
 
 
 reflect
 
 
 radiation,
 
 
 lower
 
 
 plant
 
 
 temperature,
 
 
 and
 
 
 reduce
 
 
 water
 
 
 loss.
 
 
 They
 
 
 also
 
 
 provide
 
 
 defense
 
 
 against
 
 
 insects. How cool is that!

My Pollen Observations- Keerthi Padmanabhan

My family recently planted new plants in our backyard, so I decided to take a closer look at them using my foldscope. The plant that I observed  was the New Zealand Flax.   I saw the green chloroplasts and the many cells that were in the plant.  In addition to this, I saw white colored stripes that contrasted with the green color in the plants(from chloroplasts). It was interesting to see that pattern .  I also  could see rectangular cells . Plants have rectangular cells because they have a cell wall and animal cells do not. I learned a lot from observing this plant and I will continue to foldscope things I find around me.


 <img alt="img_6450" class="alignright wp-image-19368 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="19368" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1475405840","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"50","shutter_speed":"0.033333333333333","title":"","orientation":"6"}' data-image-title="img_6450" data-recalc-dims="1" height="253" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_19364/IMG_6450.jpg" width="253"/>
 <img alt="The Pant in My Backyard" class="alignright wp-image-19370 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="19370" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1475406235","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"40","shutter_speed":"0.016666666666667","title":"","orientation":"6"}' data-image-title="The Pant in My Backyard" data-recalc-dims="1" height="249" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_19364/IMG_6456.jpg" width="249"/>
 <img alt="img_6453" class="alignright wp-image-19369 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="19369" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1475405869","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"200","shutter_speed":"0.033333333333333","title":"","orientation":"6"}' data-image-title="img_6453" data-recalc-dims="1" height="256" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_19364/IMG_6453.jpg" width="256"/>

Taking a Closer Look in my Backyard- By: Keerthi Padmanabhan

Today I wanted to see what else was in my yard, so I took a sample from a nearby plant and observed it. Here is what I saw:


 <img alt="img_6468" class="size-medium wp-image-19382 alignleft gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="19382" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1475494634","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"50","shutter_speed":"0.033333333333333","title":"","orientation":"6"}' data-image-title="img_6468" data-recalc-dims="1" height="300" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_19381/IMG_6468.jpg" width="300"/>
 <img alt="img_6470" class="size-medium wp-image-19383 alignleft gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="19383" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1475494704","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"125","shutter_speed":"0.033333333333333","title":"","orientation":"6"}' data-image-title="img_6470" data-recalc-dims="1" height="300" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_19381/IMG_6470.jpg" width="300"/>
 <img alt="img_6471" class="size-medium wp-image-19384 alignleft gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="19384" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1475494711","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"64","shutter_speed":"0.033333333333333","title":"","orientation":"6"}' data-image-title="img_6471" data-recalc-dims="1" height="300" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_19381/IMG_6471.jpg" width="300"/>
 <img alt="img_6480-1" class="wp-image-19385 alignnone gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="19385" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1475495095","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"40","shutter_speed":"0.0083333333333333","title":"","orientation":"6"}' data-image-title="img_6480-1" data-recalc-dims="1" height="308" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_19381/IMG_6480-1.jpg" width="308"/>




 (The picture that is on the bottom row  on the right is the the actual plant in my backyard)


 When observing this plant, I could clearly see the cells and hairs on the plant specimen. I noticed that in some places there was more chloroplasts than other places.  On the sides  of the plant the color of the plant was greener than the internal part of the plant. I was curious to see what plant I was observing so I researched and found that the  scientific name  of the plant is Artemisia Vulgaris.

Taking a Closer Look in my Backyard 2 &#8211; Artemisia Vulgaris &#8212; By Keerthi Padmanabhan

Today, I observed a red rose. This flower comes from a family called Rosoideae.  At first, when I tried to view this rose,  all I could see was big red spots. So, to focus the rose, I took a piece of paper and made a wedge with my foldscope.  This made it much more clear to see the cells. When picking  the flower petal,  I saw that there was a an area at the bottom where there was no red pigment. Curious to see how it looked up close, I foldscoped it.  The color was not obvious to my naked eye, but when I saw it under the foldscope, it had a pinkish tint. I took a closer look and usedmy wedge to see saw small dots on the petal. Here’s how it looked:
 <img alt="img_6703" class="size-medium wp-image-19620 aligncenter gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="19620" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1476275692","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"100","shutter_speed":"0.033333333333333","title":"","orientation":"6"}' data-image-title="img_6703" data-recalc-dims="1" height="225" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_19618/IMG_6703.jpg" width="300"/>




 I thought that this was pretty cool. On the upper part of the rose petal, I could see some individual cells. I noticed that the rose petal’s veins could be clearly seen. It was a little hard getting this part of the flower to focus with my camera, but here is how the upper part of the rose petal  looked like:


 
 <img alt="img_6708" class="alignright wp-image-19619 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="19619" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1476275955","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"640","shutter_speed":"0.066666666666667","title":"","orientation":"6"}' data-image-title="img_6708" data-recalc-dims="1" height="180" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_19618/IMG_6708.jpg" width="240"/>
 <img alt="img_6707" class="alignright wp-image-19621 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="19621" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1476275778","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"2000","shutter_speed":"0.066666666666667","title":"","orientation":"1"}' data-image-title="img_6707" data-recalc-dims="1" height="175" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_19618/IMG_6707.jpg" width="233"/>
 <img alt="img_6708" class="alignright wp-image-19622 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="19622" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1476275955","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"640","shutter_speed":"0.066666666666667","title":"","orientation":"6"}' data-image-title="img_6708" data-recalc-dims="1" height="183" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_19618/IMG_6708-1.jpg" width="244"/>
 .








 I learned a lot from observing this flower, and I will continue to observe other flowers with my foldscope.

Red Rose By: Keerthi Padmanabhan

I was just about to bite into a juicy red apple, when
 
 
 I saw a dark spot on the side. So, I foldscoped it.   Here is how the apple looked:
 
 <img alt="img_7010" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-20142 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="20142" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1478424977","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"160","shutter_speed":"0.033333333333333","title":"","orientation":"6"}' data-image-title="img_7010" data-recalc-dims="1" height="300" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_20140/IMG_7010.jpg" width="226"/>










 When the apple was cut it looked like this
 <img alt="img_7012" class="size-medium wp-image-20143 aligncenter gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="20143" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1478425069","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"125","shutter_speed":"0.033333333333333","title":"","orientation":"6"}' data-image-title="img_7012" data-recalc-dims="1" height="300" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_20140/IMG_7012.jpg" width="225"/>


 Once I inserted this sample in my foldscope, I viewed the healthy part of apple’s epidermis and noticed that it was vividly colored and had many visible cells.  I used a wedge to focus the image.
 
 <img alt="img_7038" class="wp-image-20149 aligncenter gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="20149" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1478466782","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"32","shutter_speed":"0.0083333333333333","title":"","orientation":"6"}' data-image-title="img_7038" data-recalc-dims="1" height="214" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_20140/IMG_7038.jpg" width="214"/>
 <img alt="img_7033" class="wp-image-20144 alignnone gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="20144" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1478466687","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"32","shutter_speed":"0.0083333333333333","title":"","orientation":"6"}' data-image-title="img_7033" data-recalc-dims="1" height="204" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_20140/IMG_7033.jpg" width="204"/>


 After viewing the healthy apple epidermis sample, I viewed the cells of the apple that had  gone necrosis( death of cells in living organism). I noticed that once the apple started  to go through necrosis, the pigment  changed  from a pinkish color, to a yellow/ brown/ to black. Here are some pictures of what I saw:
 
 <img alt="img_7030" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-20153 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="20153" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1478466344","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"1000","shutter_speed":"0.066666666666667","title":"","orientation":"1"}' data-image-title="img_7030" data-recalc-dims="1" height="300" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_20140/IMG_7030.jpg" width="300"/>
 <img alt="img_7043" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-20151 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="20151" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1478468055","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"100","shutter_speed":"0.033333333333333","title":"","orientation":"6"}' data-image-title="img_7043" data-recalc-dims="1" height="300" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_20140/IMG_7043.jpg" width="225"/>


 <img alt="img_7031" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-20154 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="20154" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1478466363","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"2000","shutter_speed":"0.066666666666667","title":"","orientation":"1"}' data-image-title="img_7031" data-recalc-dims="1" height="300" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_20140/IMG_7031.jpg" width="300"/>


















 Lastly, I saw the inside of the  apple. I saw that the inside of apple was dark and was probably that way because of oxidization. Here is how it looked:


 <img alt="img_7039" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-20150 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="20150" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1478467228","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"125","shutter_speed":"0.033333333333333","title":"","orientation":"6"}' data-image-title="img_7039" data-recalc-dims="1" height="300" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_20140/IMG_7039.jpg" width="300"/>
 <img alt="img_7028" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-20152 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="20152" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1478466263","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"40","shutter_speed":"0.033333333333333","title":"","orientation":"1"}' data-image-title="img_7028" data-recalc-dims="1" height="300" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_20140/IMG_7028.jpg" width="300"/>












 I learned a lot from doing this, and next time I reach for a fruit, I will look to see if there is something interesting and will definitely foldscope it if there is!

The Dark Celled Apple-  By: Keerthi Padmanabhan

Today I saw a grain of sugar under the foldscope. In the pictures I took, it was very hard to focus, so the images look a little blurry. I  saw that the sugar grains  I looked at were rectangular in shape and saw that many of the grains were stuck together. Here is how they looked.(I tried to use a wedge to focus).


 <img alt="img_7050" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-20185 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="20185" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1478617071","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"50","shutter_speed":"0.033333333333333","title":"","orientation":"6"}' data-image-title="img_7050" data-recalc-dims="1" height="225" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_20182/IMG_7050.jpg" width="300"/>
 <img alt="img_7052" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-20186 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="20186" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1478617074","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"32","shutter_speed":"0.033333333333333","title":"","orientation":"6"}' data-image-title="img_7052" data-recalc-dims="1" height="225" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_20182/IMG_7052.jpg" width="300"/>
 <img alt="img_7053" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-20187 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="20187" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1478617951","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"32","shutter_speed":"0.0083333333333333","title":"","orientation":"6"}' data-image-title="img_7053" data-recalc-dims="1" height="225" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_20182/IMG_7053.jpg" width="300"/>
 <img alt="img_7054" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-20188 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="20188" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1478618014","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"40","shutter_speed":"0.033333333333333","title":"","orientation":"6"}' data-image-title="img_7054" data-recalc-dims="1" height="225" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_20182/IMG_7054.jpg" width="300"/>
 <img alt="img_7055" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-20189 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="20189" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2.2","credit":"","camera":"iPhone 6","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1478618091","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.15","iso":"50","shutter_speed":"0.033333333333333","title":"","orientation":"6"}' data-image-title="img_7055" data-recalc-dims="1" height="225" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_20182/IMG_7055.jpg" width="300"/>

Keerthi Padmanabhan

Earth

Posts

Taking a Closer Look in my Backyard 2 – Artemisia Vulgaris — By Keerthi Padmanabhan

Red Rose By: Keerthi Padmanabhan

The Dark Celled Apple- By: Keerthi Padmanabhan

A Sweet Perspective– By: Keerthi Padmanabhan

My Pollen Observations- Keerthi Padmanabhan

Taking a Closer Look in my Backyard- By: Keerthi Padmanabhan

Taking a Closer Look in my Backyard 2 – Artemisia Vulgaris — By Keerthi Padmanabhan

Red Rose By: Keerthi Padmanabhan

The Dark Celled Apple- By: Keerthi Padmanabhan

A Sweet Perspective– By: Keerthi Padmanabhan

My Pollen Observations- Keerthi Padmanabhan

Taking a Closer Look in my Backyard- By: Keerthi Padmanabhan

Taking a Closer Look in my Backyard 2 – Artemisia Vulgaris — By Keerthi Padmanabhan

Red Rose By: Keerthi Padmanabhan

The Dark Celled Apple- By: Keerthi Padmanabhan

A Sweet Perspective– By: Keerthi Padmanabhan

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Foldscope Lens Magnification