Reply Microscopy

I find the use of microscopes fascinating. It still blows my mind that before the microscope was invented looking at cells and all their components was never a thing! The use of the microscope opened so many doors in medicine, it really is incredible. A specific scenario where I would require the use of a microscope would be if I were wanting to identify certain toxins that may be responsible for causing autoimmune diseases such as Lupus. The type of light microscope that is needed in this scenario uses fluorescent-labeled antibodies to detect certain bacteria, viruses, or toxins. It uses specific staining techniques to identify distribution of proteins or other molecules. Fluorescent microscopes were first invented in between 1911 and 1913 by two German physicists Heimstaedt and Lehmann.

The second microscope I would use is a confocal microscope. A confocal microscope offers high-quality images that are relatively easy to obtain from specimens, which makes it one of the more popular microscopes. However, this specific type of microscope can increase cell and tissue death due to the high- intensity laser. This may cause people to opt out of using the Confocal microscope if they are dealing with certain tissues or cells that are more sensitive. 

References:

Caprette, D. (2013). Medical Lab. Up Close: A look at Clinical Microscopy. 

          https://www.medlabmag.com/article/1122#:~:text=The%20light%20microscope%20is%20perhaps,used%20tool%20in%20the%20laboratoryF  e

Fellters, T, Davidson, M. (nd). Evident. Confocal Microscopy. https://www.olympus-lifescience.com/en/microscope-Links to an external site.

    resource/primer/techniques/confocal/confocalintro/