Andrew Yee[_1_]
April 23rd 08, 01:06 AM
Office of Communications and Marketing
Auburn University
Auburn, Alabama
Contact:
Charles Martin, (334) 844-9999
or
Mike Clardy, (334) 844-9999
April 22, 2008
AU creates rechargeable microscope system for NASA's Antarctic expeditions
AUBURN -- Auburn University researchers have built a rechargeable microscope
illumination system for NASA scientists who are using it during Antarctic
expeditions.
Professor Vitaly Vodyanoy and research assistant Oleg Pustovyy of the AU
Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology built the patent-pending
Ilumna 120 to help NASA scientists observe microscopic life in areas where
there is no electricity. NASA used it on a preliminary, 11-day trip in
February and will take it in November for three months during the Tawani
Foundation International 2008 Schirmacher Oasis Antarctica Expedition.
The device, which contains a battery pack, condenser and bulb with a
built-in collimator, attaches to standard research microscopes, producing
high-resolution images. It measures 3 inches high, 2 inches wide and 2.25
inches deep. For the NASA scientists, it is attached to a microscope that
previously used sunlight and a mirror when electricity was not available.
"This one is brighter and does not depend on the weather," Vodyanoy said.
"The condenser produces annular (ring-shaped) illumination, so they can see
smaller objects better. They can see small bacteria now."
The Ilumna 120 can be powered by either a 110- or 220-volt outlet in normal
laboratory conditions; by the internal, rechargeable nine-volt, lithium ion
battery pack during field trips; or by recharging the battery pack through a
solar element for environments away from electricity. It also can operate on
three standard three-volt batteries.
"The internal parts are not really new," Vodyanoy said. "We used a
commercial condenser and bulb that has a built-in collimation lens. There
were other devices on the market, but they did not fit the microscope very
well and are not designed to work with high resolution microscopes."
NASA scientists used the Ilumna 120 on a reconnaissance expedition to the
Schirmacher Oasis, Antarctica, in February to study microbial life forms,
called extremophiles, that survive and sometime thrive in some of the most
hostile conditions on the planet. The trip allowed them to assess
requirements for the main, upcoming expedition to the Schirmacher Oasis and
Lake Untersee in November.
"The extremely cold, dry and windy conditions of the great white desert of
Antarctica provide the best terrestrial analog for conditions that may exist
on Mars and other frozen worlds of our solar system," said Richard Hoover,
astrobiology group leader at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and
National Space Science and Technology Center in Huntsville.
"Although penguins, a few other bird species and fur seals can thrive at the
margins of the Antarctica continent, microbial extremophiles are the only
kinds of life found in the interior," Hoover said.
Hoover and his team are working on the isolation, characterization and
scientific description of several exotic and novel microbial extremophiles
found in samples of guano of African penguins and from an ice cave and
several lakes. They also are using the Ilumna 120 system to explore the
characteristics of a new extremophile species and a new genus of bacteria
from samples of Magellanic penguin guano that Hoover collected with
astronaut James Lovell during the Antarctica 2000 Expedition.
"The Ilumna 120 system coupled to my Leitz microscope and Sony video camera
was found to be ideally suited for high resolution studies of the detailed
morphology and locomotion of the extremely small polar microorganisms
discovered during the Schirmacher Oasis Expedition," Hoover said.
Vodyanoy says the Ilumna 120 has other potential research and medical
applications, such as in pathogenic disease detection, geology studies,
military uses in the battlefield and during outbreaks and disasters when
electricity is not available. It would be useful, he says, in underdeveloped
countries and in isolated agricultural areas.
"Samples may die on the way to the lab, so the Ilumna 120 could help medical
researchers have more capabilities in remote areas," Vodyanoy said.
His research assistant, Pustovyy, built the device in December, working "day
and night" during the holiday break to complete the project. "NASA needed it
in a hurry, so we were able to put it together quickly so they could get
familiar with it before their trip," Pustovyy said.
Vodyanoy said, "His [Pustovyy's] role was crucial in getting it completed in
time for the expedition. NASA needed it by the end of December so they would
have time to test it."
IMAGE CAPTIONS:
[Image 1:
http://wireeagle.auburn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/au-ilumna01a.jpg
(40KB)]
Auburn University Professor Vitaly Vodyanoy (left) and research assistant
Oleg Pustovyy prepare to attach the Ilumna 120 to a microscope in their
research laboratory.
[Image 2:
http://wireeagle.auburn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/au-ilumna02a.jpg
(32KB)]
The AU-developed Ilumna 120 microscope attachment (front) can be used in
conditions where electricity is not available. It also can be powered by an
electrical transformer (back) in laboratory settings and through solar power
in the field. It can operate on three standard three-volt batteries as well.
Auburn University
Auburn, Alabama
Contact:
Charles Martin, (334) 844-9999
or
Mike Clardy, (334) 844-9999
April 22, 2008
AU creates rechargeable microscope system for NASA's Antarctic expeditions
AUBURN -- Auburn University researchers have built a rechargeable microscope
illumination system for NASA scientists who are using it during Antarctic
expeditions.
Professor Vitaly Vodyanoy and research assistant Oleg Pustovyy of the AU
Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology built the patent-pending
Ilumna 120 to help NASA scientists observe microscopic life in areas where
there is no electricity. NASA used it on a preliminary, 11-day trip in
February and will take it in November for three months during the Tawani
Foundation International 2008 Schirmacher Oasis Antarctica Expedition.
The device, which contains a battery pack, condenser and bulb with a
built-in collimator, attaches to standard research microscopes, producing
high-resolution images. It measures 3 inches high, 2 inches wide and 2.25
inches deep. For the NASA scientists, it is attached to a microscope that
previously used sunlight and a mirror when electricity was not available.
"This one is brighter and does not depend on the weather," Vodyanoy said.
"The condenser produces annular (ring-shaped) illumination, so they can see
smaller objects better. They can see small bacteria now."
The Ilumna 120 can be powered by either a 110- or 220-volt outlet in normal
laboratory conditions; by the internal, rechargeable nine-volt, lithium ion
battery pack during field trips; or by recharging the battery pack through a
solar element for environments away from electricity. It also can operate on
three standard three-volt batteries.
"The internal parts are not really new," Vodyanoy said. "We used a
commercial condenser and bulb that has a built-in collimation lens. There
were other devices on the market, but they did not fit the microscope very
well and are not designed to work with high resolution microscopes."
NASA scientists used the Ilumna 120 on a reconnaissance expedition to the
Schirmacher Oasis, Antarctica, in February to study microbial life forms,
called extremophiles, that survive and sometime thrive in some of the most
hostile conditions on the planet. The trip allowed them to assess
requirements for the main, upcoming expedition to the Schirmacher Oasis and
Lake Untersee in November.
"The extremely cold, dry and windy conditions of the great white desert of
Antarctica provide the best terrestrial analog for conditions that may exist
on Mars and other frozen worlds of our solar system," said Richard Hoover,
astrobiology group leader at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and
National Space Science and Technology Center in Huntsville.
"Although penguins, a few other bird species and fur seals can thrive at the
margins of the Antarctica continent, microbial extremophiles are the only
kinds of life found in the interior," Hoover said.
Hoover and his team are working on the isolation, characterization and
scientific description of several exotic and novel microbial extremophiles
found in samples of guano of African penguins and from an ice cave and
several lakes. They also are using the Ilumna 120 system to explore the
characteristics of a new extremophile species and a new genus of bacteria
from samples of Magellanic penguin guano that Hoover collected with
astronaut James Lovell during the Antarctica 2000 Expedition.
"The Ilumna 120 system coupled to my Leitz microscope and Sony video camera
was found to be ideally suited for high resolution studies of the detailed
morphology and locomotion of the extremely small polar microorganisms
discovered during the Schirmacher Oasis Expedition," Hoover said.
Vodyanoy says the Ilumna 120 has other potential research and medical
applications, such as in pathogenic disease detection, geology studies,
military uses in the battlefield and during outbreaks and disasters when
electricity is not available. It would be useful, he says, in underdeveloped
countries and in isolated agricultural areas.
"Samples may die on the way to the lab, so the Ilumna 120 could help medical
researchers have more capabilities in remote areas," Vodyanoy said.
His research assistant, Pustovyy, built the device in December, working "day
and night" during the holiday break to complete the project. "NASA needed it
in a hurry, so we were able to put it together quickly so they could get
familiar with it before their trip," Pustovyy said.
Vodyanoy said, "His [Pustovyy's] role was crucial in getting it completed in
time for the expedition. NASA needed it by the end of December so they would
have time to test it."
IMAGE CAPTIONS:
[Image 1:
http://wireeagle.auburn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/au-ilumna01a.jpg
(40KB)]
Auburn University Professor Vitaly Vodyanoy (left) and research assistant
Oleg Pustovyy prepare to attach the Ilumna 120 to a microscope in their
research laboratory.
[Image 2:
http://wireeagle.auburn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/au-ilumna02a.jpg
(32KB)]
The AU-developed Ilumna 120 microscope attachment (front) can be used in
conditions where electricity is not available. It also can be powered by an
electrical transformer (back) in laboratory settings and through solar power
in the field. It can operate on three standard three-volt batteries as well.