Hair follicle nerve endings?

Well I have now prepared my first ever slide.. rather crudely.  I don't appear to have all the required equipment.  I'm grateful for just having the microscope for the time being and can make do with the small box of blank slides and covers.  I don't have a pipette or dropper either.  So I did it 17th century style.. :-)

As I am studying a neuroscience course looking at peripheral nerves and somatosensation, my first subject would be a hair follicle and its nerve endings... I'm not sure if this is or isn't showing such nerve endings.. but I can't think of much else that would wrap around like this, unless it is another type D hair that has bunched up due to the plucking process?  (Anyone know?)


(Photos taken with a Pentax held against the eyepiece again...  100x of a chest hair...  (also crudely measured against a 0.5 mm ruler in another shot - width of hair = 140 μm.. width of fibres about 5-10 μm.))

Water dropped on the slide using the wood end of a match.. hair plucked (necessarily painfully).. and follicle end was dropped into the water.  I held a small cover glass sheet (type 1 - 0.17 mm i think is what I have) and vaselined the edges (according to one website I read this prevents it drying out) .. and then messed around trying to get the cover sheet to drop flat on the slide so as few bubbles as possible were trapped... trial and error... I was satisfied at this stage for only have a few bubbles that were 'out of shot'..   Slides labelled with some chopped up personalised stickers I was sent in the post.

Now I also need a container to put these slides in.. and a pipette/dropper... and some staining fluid would be a nice addition! ..

and here's a couple at 400x of the shaft...  Are these sensory endings that I am currently studying about in the Open University's SD329 Signals and Perception...?  I wonder...

Hair follicles on a bee wing

I don't know if they are hair follicles... but as you zoom in and out they are where the tiny hairs join the wing.. This is my first post with my new microscope.. more details of that at another time...   I don't have a camera attachment at the moment, so I am carefully holding my Pentax over the eyepiece for the time being.  (I have to investigate eyepieces and the dimensions required...)  - I'll also have to work out what magnification this is.. there's no model number on the microscope, so I can't say what model or magnification .. (steep learning curve)
This was in one of the 10 prepared slides that came with the microscope.  (Plus you'll have to excuse the blemishes from my dusty old camera... it doesn't bother me too much for now.. I'm sure some of them come from a dusty lens somewhere too... )

[edit: 800x magnification from a compound microscope]

Mustard Seeds

Today's selection is spice.  Mostly seeds.  Here are some Mustard Seeds (black and white)

Mustard seeds are tiny... but don't let them fool you ; once they are growing, they'll grow bigger than all the other herbs... like a tiny thought can become a craving difficult to shed.

Try it in something different - Mustard Crusted Tofu with Kale and Sweet Potato

Black and White Mustard Seeds

Black and White Mustard Seeds - up close

Fenugreek Seeds - Methi

Today's selection is spice.  Mostly seeds.  Here are some Fenugreek Seeds (a.k.a. Methi)

Used to increase insufficient breast milk for mothers.  Also might be helpful in diabetes.

But can apparently make people smell like maple syrup if too much is taken?  A strange tale...

Try it in something different - It's good for your hair

Fenugreek Seeds

Fenugreek Seeds - not much to see here

Fennel Seeds - Saunf

Today's selection is spice.  Mostly seeds.  Here are some Fennel Seeds (a.k.a. Saunf, marathon)

Wiki: The Greek name for fennel is marathon (μάραθον) or marathos (μάραθος) - and the Battle of Marathon was the birth of the marathon, at the place of the fennel.

Try it in something different - Fennel Crusted Potatoes

Fennel Seeds - Saunf

Fennel Seeds - up close

Cumin Seeds - Jeera

Today's selection is spice.  Mostly seeds.  Here are some Cumin Seeds (a.k.a. jeera)

Try it in something different - in a drink with tamarind - Jal Jeera

Cumin Seeds

Cumin Seeds - up close

Coriander Seeds - Dhania

Today's selection is spice.  Mostly seeds.  Coriander Seeds - Dhania...

Try it in something different - Brew some Orange and Coriander Blonde Ale

Coriander Seeds

Coriander Seeds

Coriander seed - up close

Black Peppercorns

Today's selection is spice.  Mostly seeds.  Black Pepper

Try it in something different - Strawberry and Black Pepper Sorbet

Black Peppercorns

Peppercorns up close - lighting not so good with this darker item

Black Onion Seeds - Kalonji

Today's selection is spice.  Mostly seeds.  Kalonji are black onion seeds... a.k.a. nigella seeds,

Try in a Carrot and Fennel Salad

Black Onion Seeds

Black Onion Seeds

Black Onion Seeds up close - bit hard to see in the poor lighting.

Mixed Grains n Granules

A selection of mixed grains and granules on my black plate...  the first contains a single instant coffee granule, some quinoa, sesame seeds, and bulgur wheat.

The next shows a bit of coconut covered in salt or sugar (interesting how that picks it up so easily), quinoa, sesame seeds, bulgur wheat.

The last shows quinoa, bulgur wheat, coconut, sesame seeds and some granules of sugar.

Perhaps next time I shall focus on beans and pulses...

Dessicated Coconut

These are dessicated coconut flakes.

Hmm.. macaroons...

Instant Coffee Granules

The first is zoomed out .. and the next is zoomed in...  they are Kenco Coffee granules.

Time for a cuppa.

Granulated Sugar

The first is zoomed out .. and the next is zoomed in...  this is white granulated sugar.  With a couple of bits of bulgur wheat left over.

The above photo just captures light refracting on the surface of the sugar crystal.

Sesame Seeds

The first is zoomed out .. and the next is a little out of focus but zoomed in...  these are white Sesame seeds.

The above photo captures the germ end of the seed.

Pink Himalayan Salt

The first is zoomed out .. and the next is a little out of focus but zoomed in...  this is Pink Himalayan salt.

The pink colour is from iron oxide.

Slightly crushed up in a salt mill...

Bulgur wheat and quinoa

Here's a series of posts about grains and other small food stuffs...  beginning with bulgur wheat and quinoa.

Quinoa seeds contain essential amino acids like lysine and good quantities of calcium, phosphorus, and iron.

Strawberry

We're growing strawberries in our front garden... there are so many of them... I wonder what they look like up close...

It's quite hard to stop the light from the microscope shining off at this magnitude...

And finally a seed up-close (and somewhat washed out...)

Still... it tasted pretty good...

Worm

This early bird caught this worm on the microscope... the head kept moving and was difficult to get a clean shot - I don't think it appreciated the light in the camera...  I found it escaping from a plant pot on the window ledge...

Purple Aphiiiids...

And these were spotted outside on some weeds... they were being eaten by ants and other insects...

Last one slightly out of focus...

Aphiiiid....

Caught these on our seedlings this morning... as the family grows they also die off leaving carcasses which they move around as they shift about on the stem, waving their arms at the bright camera light...

Better get them out in the rain...