r/interesting • u/freudian_nipps • 16d ago

NATURE Death of a single-celled organism

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u/CicadaFit9756 16d ago

Did something kill it or was it just its time?

73

u/[deleted] 16d ago edited 16d ago

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u/telperos 16d ago

When something gets to the electron microscope it’s already dead from the required steps to prepare a sample for observation under said high-precision instrument.

14

u/Alt-001 16d ago

In the case of an electron microscope, they are dead before they are scanned. The electrons need a conductive surface with a charge to attract them to generate the image. Samples are sputter coated, where metal vapor is deposited on it. The electron beam also needs a hard vacuum, so that would kill anything living even if it were to get in.

7

u/IcyEngineering4014 16d ago

per google "metal coating isn't because electrons need a "conductive surface to attract them." Rather, conductivity allows the specimen to drain away the electrons deposited by the beam, preventing electrostatic charging that would distort the image."

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u/Alt-001 16d ago

Correct! That is a more accurate way to describe it.

1

u/Gwen_The_Destroyer 16d ago

This whole chain feels like bots and people using bots

4

u/Alt-001 16d ago

haha I worked in a lab for six years and a scanning electron microscope was one of the pieces of equipment I used. Otherwise I wouldn't know any of this.

5

u/rayzerrayzerray 16d ago

Now we have a mystery an earlier comment said it was killed by hydrogen peroxide. So who Is right?

9

u/[deleted] 16d ago

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