• USA scientists have devised ‘Glowscope’ microscope, to make fluorescent microscopy affordable for schools.
• Fluorescence microscope studies an object by analysing how it re-emits light that it has absorbed.
• Object is illuminated with light of a specific wavelength. Particles in object absorb this light and reemit it at a higher wavelength (i.e., different colour).
  • These particles are called fluorophores.
  • Different fluorophores are used to identify and study different microscopic entities.

Applications

• A fluorescent microscope can track fluorophores as they move inside the object, revealing the object’s internal shape and other characteristics.
• Through this, scientists have developed different fluorophores to identify and study different entities, from specific parts of DNA to protein complexes.
• With this setup, the researchers were able to image the creatures’ brain, spinal cord, heart, and head and jaw bones.
• They were able to zoom in and out using the smartphone camera and the clip-on lens.