Ultrafast 3D imaging just got faster! Introducing: "Instant dual-view Snouty (iDV-Snouty) light-sheet microscopy" -> Double the data rate of a Snouty microscope by adding a 2nd view! Use the extra view for a variety of imaging modes! Article here: amsikking.github.io/idv-snouty_l...

We present: Index-agnostic oblique plane light sheet microscopy of centimetre-scale cleared tissues at subcellular resolution www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Hello #world, meet 1,000× Expansion Microscopy. A small gel would grow to the size of an Olympic swimming pool, while amino-acid-scale distances become visible with ordinary light microscopy. Led by Helena Hu from @eboyden3.bsky.social's lab, in collab with us. Story: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

A day in the life of a growing hiPSC spheroid expressing endogenously mStayGold-tagged histone 3.3 for #FluorescenceFriday and the #Snouty aficionados. 28 hours (and >50,000 exposures) later and they are still going! Home-brewed volume projection.

#HappyMicroscopyMonday #microscopycommunity - Join the BINA Builders for a panel and discussion on the shift from proprietary systems to community-driven innovation. Thursday, May 21! Learn more: buff.ly/pMShl9t

Altair Direct View OPM Preprint! We built a simplified direct-view oblique-plane microscope for imaging big, optically accessible specimens with a single-objective light-sheet geometry. Delivers... • ~5.4 mm field of view • ~2.6 μm, ~3.4 μm, and ~17.8 μm resolution in X/Y/Z

We invented “triplet tumbling microscopy” (TTM) to track protein-protein interactions in living cells! Tag your protein with GFP and see it interact with *untagged* binding partners www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

We’re hiring a scientist to work on microscopy at Calico! If you’re excited about developing and applying cutting edge microscopy to a variety of biological questions, we’d love to hear from you. Find more information and apply here: www.calicolabs.com/careers/?gh_...

Careers - Calico

calicolabs.com

What if you got to work with some of your best friends on a science project? I can't publish how fun this was, but I can show you the data (🧵)! Last week, we posted our second neutrophil swarming paper to bioRxiv and I wanted to post my favorite videos here~ www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Snouty objectives enable high resolution light-sheet microscopy with standard microscope platforms and sample formats! -> Here are citable repositories with CAD, Zemax and summarized optomechanical specifications: AMS_AGY_v3: a.k.a. Empress Snout, now the best! github.com/amsikking/AM...

GitHub - amsikking/AMS_AGY_v3_specifications: Optical and mechanical specifications for the AMS-AGY v3 objective (a.k.a Empress Snout).

Optical and mechanical specifications for the AMS-AGY v3 objective (a.k.a Empress Snout). - amsikking/AMS_AGY_v3_specifications

github.com

@patrickzager.bsky.social acquired this lovely 3D timelapse of live neutrophil membrane protrusions on the snoutscope at the UCSF Center for Advanced Light Microscopy. Shown are three orthogonal maximum intensity projections.

Hi microscopy folks! I'm looking for your advice 💡 We're shopping for cyclic immunofluorescence instruments to increase throughput and multiplex-ability of tissue IF. Have you worked with cyclic IF platforms (Comet, CellScape, Cell DIVE)? Thoughts? Pain points? Alternatives to consider? Thanks!

The power of CAD! The ability to precisely draw 3D objects and have them made is still a miracle to me! -> Here's an old design for an alloy block to hold microcentrifuge tubes near freezing when moving them around. It's simple, but I wouldn't want to draw it or make it by hand...

Celebrating science with art! Every 2 weeks for 1 year, the full alphabet. Like, reply or repost with your favorite "Z" scientist! (26/26) -> "Z" is for Zebra, Zucchini, and...Zernike? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frits_Z... Art by @annesikking.bsky.social (my Mum).

Proof of principle. A critical step in many projects... -> Here's the first data from an AMS-AGY objective. Without building the whole instrument, it showed that a tilted Snouty (Frustum) objective can avoid the resolution lost in an oblique plane microscope! amsikking.github.io/high_na_sing...

Celebrating science with art! Every 2 weeks for 1 year, the full alphabet. Like, reply or repost with your favorite "Y" scientist! (25/26) -> "Y" is for Yak, Yam, and...Young? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_... Art by @annesikking.bsky.social (my Mum).

Our snouty v3 (AMS-AGY v3) objective arrived today! Looking forward to getting it installed on our single objective light sheet system very soon...

How has AI changed CAD? Can AI now reliably generate 3D parts, assemblies and drawings? I'm interested to hear about new tools, workflows and experiences ;) -> Here's a series of enclosures I designed years ago for housing custom lab equipment. Can AI CAD just generate this automatically now?

Celebrating science with art! Every 2 weeks for 1 year, the full alphabet. Like, reply or repost with your favorite "X" scientist! (24/26) -> "X" is for Xeme, Xigua, and...Xanthopoulos? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilis... Art by @annesikking.bsky.social (my Mum).

Sharing: A simple automatic liquid dispense arrangement (SALDA) for timelapse microscopy. -> A SALDA enables accurate and repeatable liquid perturbations during timelapse microscopy and avoids environmental disturbance and vibrations from the user! Details here: amsikking.github.io/SALDA_for_ti...

Celebrating science with art! Every 2 weeks for 1 year, the full alphabet. Like, reply or repost with your favorite "W" scientist! (23/26) -> "W" is for Worm, Watercress, and...Watt? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_W... Art by @annesikking.bsky.social (my Mum).

Pro tip! As much as I like the 55deg #Snouty microscope configuration (previous post) it's hard to align and keep aligned! -> Consider using pre-designed O2-O3 optomechanics and an eyepiece to help avoid collisions during the set up! github.com/amsikking/SO...

Celebrating science with art! Every 2 weeks for 1 year, the full alphabet. Like, reply or repost with your favorite "V" scientist! (22/26) -> "V" is for Viper, Vanilla, and...Volta? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alessan... Art by @annesikking.bsky.social (my Mum).

I'm excited to be hiring an intern to develop new fluorescence-based assays for alpha synuclein aggregation at Calico during summer 2026 😃 🔬 If you're a current PhD student who loves microscopy, unnatural amino acids, and/or synuclein biophysics, please apply! www.calicolabs.com/careers/?gh_...

Careers - Calico

calicolabs.com

The ASI machine shop made a nice replica model of the AMS-AGY v3 objective for us to have in the #CellBio2025 booth. The first of the real ones will be ready by the end of the year.

Hands down my favorite #Snouty microscope configuration! -> The air objective with a 55deg light-sheet. It's not the highest resolution version, but the convenience of the air objective, the large field of view and the steep sectioning of the light-sheet make it a pleasure to use! #AIRR #miOPM

Celebrating science with art! Every 2 weeks for 1 year, the full alphabet. Like, reply or repost with your favorite "U" scientist! (21/26) -> "U" is for Unicorn, Ugli, and...Umov? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolay... Art by @annesikking.bsky.social (my Mum).

Fast, gentle, 3D and high resolution makes miOPM ideal for timelapse microscopy of complex neural networks! -> Here's a unique iNeuron-iAstrocyte coculture imaged by github.com/gav-sturm and carefully prepared by @kunalshroff.bsky.social from the @kampmann.bsky.social lab. doi.org/10.1101/2025...

Celebrating science with art! Every 2 weeks for 1 year, the full alphabet. Like, reply or repost with your favorite "T" scientist! (20/26) -> "T" is for Tarantula, Turnip, and...Taylor? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brook_T... Art by @annesikking.bsky.social (my Mum).

Has anyone had this problem? A hydrophobic water objective? The objective is great but we struggle to keep the water on the lens... -> Maybe a solution is to paint a circle around the nose with a 'hydrophobic barrier pap pen" (link below). Has anyone tried this? www.fishersci.com/shop/product...