BIOL2201_2026 Foldscope Project
Apr 03, 2026 • 4:40 AM UTC
Canada
140x Magnification
Plants
Reka Lajtha
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I was curious to see if there would be a difference between the appearance of wet and dry mango seed hairs under the microscope. I went into this expecting that the wet mango hairs will be less clear due to the mango gunk still left on them. The mangoes were sourced from the independent and were very delicious!
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Above is the image I took of the dry mango hair sample. Though I did not see the fibers in great detail, they were easy to identify and tell apart from each other. They look similar to human hair samples, except the mango hairs look like they have thinner walls and less pigment. Oddly, the sample had a green tinge to it all over even though the hairs themselves appeared a pale beige/yellow after drying.
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Above is the image of the wet mango hair sample. It was more difficult to get it in focus than the dry sample which I did not anticipate. It is still possible to tell apart the individual hair fibers in some areas, but in others they blend together much more. The level of detail you can see the structure of the hairs in is also degraded compared to the dry sample. This difference was apparent to the naked eye as well, when I was preparing the slide it resembled mango puree rather than a dry clump of hair.
It was cool to see the difference between the two, but I was surprised at the lack of colour in the wet sample. Observing just with my eyes it was a vibrant orange even when spread fairly thin to fit the Foldscope.
It was cool to see the difference between the two, but I was surprised at the lack of colour in the wet sample. Observing just with my eyes it was a vibrant orange even when spread fairly thin to fit the Foldscope.
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