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Science daily #47: No life above this line

One of the fundamental prerequisites of life - the cell membrane.

Each living organism from simpliest bacteria and up to the cells that build up our bodies is surrounded by this thin lipid film.

Thickness - 7-8 nm.

 

Electron micrograph.

Instrument: JEOL JEM-1400.

Acceleration voltage: 100 kV

Camera: OSIS QUEMESA CCD

On-chip magnification: 40 000x (CCD chip size 72 mm x 48 mm).

Specimen: ultrathin (90 nm) section of glutar aldehyde and osmium tetroxide fixed yeast spheroplast (cell with chitinous cell wall removed) emebedded in epoxy resin.

Yeast were grown, spheroplasted and prepared for imaging by me.

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Uploaded on December 17, 2013
Taken on December 17, 2013