MtA_BIOL2201_2026 Feather and other fun stuff!
Apr 03, 2026 • 5:46 PM UTC
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arcarruthers
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Went exploring outside and found lots of things to look at under the foldscope!
I first found a piece of moss on the sidewalk, and I took the end of it and put it under the foldscope! I thought it was really interesting to see the plant's texture, as the bubbly pattern could be individual cells! The chunk is probably dirt! I also reviewed other parts, but they were too dense, so this is the best I could get.
I first found a piece of moss on the sidewalk, and I took the end of it and put it under the foldscope! I thought it was really interesting to see the plant's texture, as the bubbly pattern could be individual cells! The chunk is probably dirt! I also reviewed other parts, but they were too dense, so this is the best I could get.
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I then saw a feather and carefully picked it up (yes, I washed my hands after). It was medium-sized and primarily grey, so I assume it was a pigeon, as there are so many around campus, but especially around the library where I looked. I looked at the feather under the foldscope in two separate areas, and I was shocked to see that it looked different.
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The barbs seem to be oriented differently at different parts of the feather, which I think is neat! In the photo above, the barbs seem to be straight up, with a big gap between barbs. In the photo below, the barbs seem to be on an angle, leaving less of a visible gap. I wonder what the physiological implications of this are!
They both also diffract the light, making for a shiny pattern on the barbs.
They both also diffract the light, making for a shiny pattern on the barbs.
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Then I returned to the library and wanted to find something inside, so I looked at the dust on a book I found! The cool thing about dust is the complexity of its composition, so it's hard to know exactly what you are looking at! We could be looking at dead skin cells, hair, fabric fibres, dirt and minerals, and so much more.
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The variety of shapes in the dust is always cool to see and helps give clues to what we are looking at.
Then my 3 friends gave me some of their hair, and I wanted to compare to see if there was a difference under the foldscope. I looked at light brown straight hair (first photo), dark brown curly hair (second), and finally dark ginger curly hair (last).
Then my 3 friends gave me some of their hair, and I wanted to compare to see if there was a difference under the foldscope. I looked at light brown straight hair (first photo), dark brown curly hair (second), and finally dark ginger curly hair (last).
You can definitely see a colour difference, as the dark ginger hair is significantly darker than the light brown hair. It also seems to be thicker and rougher (maybe?). Either way, it's cool to see the differences between all the hair colours/types under the foldscope.
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