Living Life on the Nanoscale
Technology & EngineeringUnder the invisible beam of the scanning electron microscope, the bottom of a gecko’s foot resolved into a field of tiny hairs. As both sample and microscope sat miles away in the Nano3 laboratory of UC San Diego’s Qualcomm Institute, a high school biology class at the Kearny School of College Connections used a touch screen to zoom in and out and examine the sample in detail. With 60,000 times the magnification and more than 500 times the resolution of the average classroom microscope, the high-powered machine offered students a rare chance to see the world as scientists.
