Franceschi Microscopy and Imaging Center acquires new microscope

Washington State University’s Franceschi Microscopy and Imaging Center has acquired a microscope so powerful and versatile that Michael Knoblauch, the center director, compares it to a pig capable of making wool, milk and eggs. Or, to quote his native German, an eierlegende Wollmilchsau.

Technically, it’s an Apreo VolumeScope, and it brings a suite of imaging techniques, including the piecing together of detailed three‑dimensional images with a resolution of 10 nanometers, or about 1/10,000th of the width of a human hair.

The device also uses other techniques that can help analyze the composition of materials and map crystal structures. The combination of cutting‑edge features is unique in the Inland Northwest and fitting for a facility serving scientists from fields as diverse as microbiology, human biology and zoology, plant biology, physics, geology, material and food sciences, chemistry and others, said Knoblauch.

The $888,000 machine, funded in part by the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, arrived on campus in early November. It will be ready for users on March 1, with a couple months of instrument time already lined up. It will supplement the center’s FEI Quanta‑200 scanning electron microscope, a center workhorse that over the last three years was used by nearly 100 research groups for almost 9,000 hours, or 57 hours a week.

The VolumeScope’s 3D reconstruction feature “allows identification of subcellular structures at unprecedented detail for life scientists,” according to the center’s grant application. A scanning electron microscope captures two‑dimensional images of a specimen, and a superfine knife, or ultramicrotome, shaves off ultrathin sections between images. The images are then stitched together for viewing in three dimensions.

Energy dispersive spectroscopy, or EDS, measures the x‑ray spectra‑light wavelengths unique to different elements—to identify and map the chemical composition of samples.

In its so‑called “high‑vacuum mode,” the VolumeScope’s resolution is as low as .8 nanometers, less than a billionth of a meter and an improvement over the previous resolution of 1.2 nanometers. That’s approaching the size of just a few atoms.

A third technology, electron backscatter diffraction, or EBSD, can map the crystal state of a material. This is important for determining the quality of materials like alloys, Knoblauch said.

“This instrument will allow us to perform cutting‑edge research,” Knoblauch wrote in the center’s grant application, “and will significantly increase our capabilities and competitiveness.”

By: Hailey Meyer

“I wish I knew earlier on that one’s life can really take any shape, and that this is up to each and every person to figure out,” says Dr. Jeremiah Busch.

Dr. Jeremiah Busch is an associate professor for the Washington State University School of Biological Sciences, who’s main focus is on plant evolutionary genetics.

Busch is particularly interested in traits that have an outsized impact on evolution, and has a long-standing interest in the degree to which evolution closes doors for future evolutionary responses. A lot of his work is based on the evolution of genes that cause self-fertilization, and is currently working on the evolution of polypoids.

Busch’s interest in plant genetics started when he really got involved with his undergraduate research at Indiana University. He had two mentors that stuck out to him, Dr. Ellen Simms and Dr. Joy Bergelson.

“They were really patient with me and helped me make small progress on small questions,” Busch says, “I think the social fabric of the laboratory environment, where everyone is on the same team asking questions, really struck me as a wonderful way to experience the world.”

Busch also mentioned that he was blown away by the fact that people were so curious about the world and that they spent their lives trying to understand it. He was fascinated the most with statistic classes because that is where he was most out of his element.

“I have always been intrigued by biological diversity, and being introduced to statistical methods seemed to unlock a few doors for me,” said Busch, “I’m not saying it was easy, though!”

Busch was born in Alaska, but has lived in Montana, Oregon, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Arkansas. He completed his undergrad at the University of Chicago, and received his Ph. D. in 2005 at Indiana University.

Currently being at WSU, Busch would recommend to all students to figure out what they are interested in, and to get involved in that.

“Enmesh yourself in a healthy social fabric too – this helps to strike a proper balance between the rigors of the classroom and the rest of your life, which should be equally rewarding,” Busch mentioned.