Happy #MothersDay from this shrimp and her eggs, captured on an #Evident DP75 4X/0.16 NA darkfield microscope. #ScopeTheScope 🔬 #MBL 🌊 #AQLM 🧫 #Microscopy 🔬 #BioImaging 🧬 #Fluorescence🪼#WoodsHole 🦞 #Optics 💡 #LightMicroscopy

That’s a wrap on #AQLM 2026 🔬Thank you to everyone who made this year’s course possible: students, faculty, TAs and vendors. We are looking forward to what this #microscopy community builds next. Interested in applying next year? 2027 applications open in late 2026, stay tuned for updates.

It was an honor to hear Prof. Sarah Veatch, PhD, deliver yesterday’s Inoué Lecture, discussing how spatiotemporal pair-correlation analysis can recover nanoscale membrane organization in live-cell single-molecule localization #microscopy despite diffusion and molecular motion. #MBL 🌊 #AQLM 🧫

Back from @aqlm.bsky.social . Adequate sunset view on the way back.

Why be out of focus when you could be at #AQLM, learning about microscopes inSTED? Today, our students did rotations with our vendors #OxfordInstruments, #Nikon, #3i, #Leica & #ONI, learning about super-resolution #imaging modalities including DNA-PAINT and dSTORM. #MBL 🌊 #Microscopy 🔬

Good to have you back again this year, Jim! @thejimsims.bsky.social #MBL 🌊 #AQLM 🧫 #Microscopy 🔬 #WoodsHole 🦞 #Optics 💡 #LightMicroscopy 🔥 #STEMCommunity 🫂 #ScientistLife 🧑‍🔬

We tuned into a lecture by #AQLM course director, Prof. Diane Lidke, PhD, about single particle tracking. She discussed labelling strategies including quantum dots, and their applications using 2D/3D trajectory visualizations and diffusion mapping. #MBL 🌊 #Microscopy 🔬 #BioImaging 🧬 #Fluorescence🪼

Yesterday, we tuned into a lecture by Prof. Reto Fiolka, PhD, about Light-Sheet #Fluorescence #Microscopy. He discussed light sheet #optics and different #imaging modalities, as well as implementations in live imaging whole #embryos. #MBL 🌊 #AQLM 🧫 #BioImaging 🧬#WoodsHole 🦞 #LightMicroscopy 🧪

Louse imaged on @zeiss-microscopy.bsky.social #lightsheet 7 #microscope by @carsten-wolff.bsky.social @mblscience.bsky.social @aqlm.bsky.social #microscopy

@carsten-wolff.bsky.social teaching @aqlm.bsky.social students about light sheet #microscopy on the @zeiss-microscopy.bsky.social LightSheet 7. Feat. cute crustacean embryo for specimen

@rtomer.bsky.social : Pizza time at AQLM! @aqlm.bsky.social !

This sleek beam was created through a fluorescence cube on a Cairn OpenFrame, using a Toptica laser. ✨ #ScopeTheScope 🔬 #MBL 🌊 #AQLM 🧫 #Microscopy 🔬 #BioImaging 🧬 #Fluorescence🪼#WoodsHole 🦞 #Optics 💡 #LightMicroscopy 🧪 #FluorescenceMicroscopy ⭐️ #Confocal 🥼 #SuperResolution 🔥 #STEMCommunity 🫂

It’s #lightsheet #microscopy day @aqlm.bsky.social with @retof.bsky.social

@aqlm.bsky.social Quite reasonable requests…

Nickelback said to "look at this graph": A rail-mounted light sheet #microscope creating a sharp intensity peak. So cool! #ScopeTheScope 🔬 #MBL 🌊 #AQLM 🧫 #Microscopy 🔬 #BioImaging 🧬 #Fluorescence🪼#WoodsHole 🦞 #Optics 💡 #LightMicroscopy 🧪 #FluorescenceMicroscopy ⭐️ #Confocal 🥼 #SuperResolution 🔥

We are @mblscience.bsky.social @aqlm.bsky.social sharing the latest live cell imaging technology with our Marianas SDC system. 3i's LaserStack, Vector3 TIRF/FRAP, and components from ...

Real-time imaging at #AQLM, where “woooo got a signal” is a totally valid reaction! 🔬 #ScopeTheScope 🔬 #MBL 🌊 #AQLM 🧫 #Microscopy 🔬 #BioImaging 🧬 #Fluorescence🪼#WoodsHole 🦞 #Optics 💡 #LightMicroscopy 🧪 #FluorescenceMicroscopy ⭐️ #Confocal 🥼 #SuperResolution 🔥 #STEMCommunity 🫂 #ScientistLife 🧑‍🔬

These bright “comets” mark growth, where EB3 tracking shows the advancing ends of microtubules in real time. ☄️ 📸 EB3 dynamics captured on the 3i Marianas #imaging system with a 63× objective and Prime BSI 95B camera. #ScopeTheScope 🔬 #MBL 🌊 #AQLM 🧫 #Microscopy 🔬 #Fluorescence🪼 #Optics 💡

How your microscope spreads light: a guide to point spread functions. 💥 (1/5) 📸 #AQLM Day 4 Lab GIF! #ScopeTheScope 🔬 #MBL 🌊 #AQLM 🧫 #Microscopy 🔬 #BioImaging 🧬 #Fluorescence🪼#WoodsHole 🦞 #Optics 💡 #LightMicroscopy 🧪 #FluorescenceMicroscopy ⭐️ #Confocal 🥼 #SuperResolution 🔥 #STEMCommunity 🫂

We attended “Digital Detectors” by Dr. Simon Watkins, PhD. Advances in sCMOS #technology reduce noise, improving sensitivity and dynamic range. With better coatings, Nyquist-matched pixels, and optimized illumination, light loss is minimized and image quality is improved. 🌊 #MBL #AQLM #Microscopy

#Cells showing #mitochondria in red, actin in green, and nuclei in blue: a hustling, bustling city of powerhouses, scaffolds, and headquarters 🏭🛣🏢. Captured at 40× on an #Evident BX53 epifluorescence #microscope with a #Hamamatsu ORCA-Flash 4.0 LT3. #ScopeTheScope 🔬 #MBL 🌊 #AQLM 🧫 #Fluorescence🪼

All planes in focus, all fields in view. 4×4 EDF mosaic from 16 z-stacks, captured with DIC at 20× on a #Nikon Eclipse NiE with a #Hamamatsu ORCA-Fusion camera. #ScopeTheScope 🔬 #MBL 🌊 #AQLM 🧫 #Microscopy 🔬 #BioImaging 🧬 #Fluorescence🪼#WoodsHole 🦞 #Optics 💡 #LightMicroscopy 🧪

Hydrozoa from Eel Pond @mblwoodshole imaged in dark field on an @evidentmicroscopy upright #microscope (cool to be able to tile and stitched on the go with a manual stage). These cuties are related to jellyfish, sea anemones and corals. 📸 Photo and caption credit: Nat Prunet @microscopic_farmer

“We’re gonna need a bigger scope” Rabbit muscle fibers imaged with DIC @aqlm.bsky.social #microscopy #jaws @mblscience.bsky.social

Polarization time! Rabbit muscle fibers imaged on a polarization microscope @aqlm.bsky.social #microscopy #labelfree

Pets of #AQLM 🐾 A look at the animals waiting for our students & faculty back home. #ScopeTheScope 🔬 #MBL 🌊 #Microscopy 🔬 #BioImaging 🧬 #Fluorescence🪼#WoodsHole 🦞 #Optics 💡 #LightMicroscopy 🧪 #FluorescenceMicroscopy ⭐️ #Confocal 🥼 #SuperResolution 🔥 #STEMCommunity 🫂 #ScientistLife 🧑‍🔬

Two #photons are approaching a refraction grating. One photon says to the other: "Which slit should I go through?" The other says: "Don't be so particular." #ScopeTheScope 🔬 #MBL 🌊 #AQLM 🧫 #Microscopy 🔬 #BioImaging 🧬 #Fluorescence🪼#WoodsHole 🦞 #Optics 💡 #LightMicroscopy 🧪 #FluorescenceMicroscopy ⭐️

Moments from last night's #AQLM Lightning Talks ⚡️ This year’s cohort spans #PhD students, postdocs, #microscopy core directors, and professors, each bringing a mix of technical depth and perspective to every talk. #ScopeTheScope 🔬 #MBL 🌊 #Microscopy 🔬 #Optics 💡 #LightMicroscopy

Diverging light coming out of the condenser after illuminating the specimen #microscopy @aqlm.bsky.social

What makes #AQLM stand out is what builds in a few short days: by Day 3, people are no longer just classmates, but collaborators in the making. Early mornings at the beach and friendly discussions lay the groundwork for professional collaborations that extend well beyond the course. 🔬 #MBL 🦞

#ScopeTheScope at #AQLM Day 2 -- we worked through data extracted from images using FIJI, with the lecture given by none other than fellow current AQLM student, Noelle Cataldo. #MBL 🌊 #Microscopy 🔬 #BioImaging 🧬#WoodsHole 🦞 #Optics 💡 #LightMicroscopy 🧪 #Confocal 🥼 #STEMCommunity 🫂

After lunch, we tuned into a lecture by Dr. Stephen Ross, PhD. He emphasized that optimal resolution depends on precise objective manufacturing: proper alignment, high-quality coatings, and refractive index matching to the sample. These minimize distortion and optical aberrations in #microscopy.

Good morning AQLMers, #ScopeTheScope at Day 2 of AQLM 🌊 Today, we observe wave optics in theory and wave behavior in practice, visible everywhere in Woods Hole. #MBL 🌊 #AQLM 🧫 #Microscopy 🔬 #BioImaging 🧬 #Fluorescence🪼#WoodsHole 🦞 #Optics 💡 #LightMicroscopy 🧪#SuperResolution 🔥 #STEMCommunity 🫂

It's important to find happiness in the *little* things in life. That's why we built a microscope from first principles today at the #AQLM course at the #MBL. Up next tomorrow are wave optics and image analysis 🔬 @mblscience.bsky.social #ScopeTheScope 🔬 #Microscopy 🧬 #WoodsHole 🦞 #Optics 💡

Just in time for warmer weather in Woods Hole, our first two cohorts of ARTC students have arrived to campus this week. Joining the FIR cohort, who arrived earlier this week, our AQLM students are starting to roll in. Welcome to the MBL!

#ScopeTheScope at AQLM Day 1 : Ray optics with Prof. Alexa Mattheyses, PhD. Up next: Building a microscope in the very first lab 👀 @mattheyseslab.bsky.social #MBL 🌊 #AQLM 🧫 #Microscopy 🔬 #BioImaging 🧬 #Fluorescence🪼#WoodsHole 🦞 #Optics 💡 #LightMicroscopy 🧪 #STEMCommunity 🫂 #ScientistLife 🧑‍🔬

Good morning, AQLMers! Today is the day - make sure you check in at Swope Center and pick up your badge before the Welcome Lecture. Drop a microscope in the comments if you’re already here! 🔬🔥 🛬 #MBL 🌊 #AQLM 🧫 #Microscopy 🔬 #WoodsHole 🦞 #Optics 💡

AQLM starts tomorrow! Are you ready for it? 🔬 #ScopeTheScope #AQLM #MBL #microscopy

There are an extremely limited number of open slots for the Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy @aqlm.bsky.social course at @mblscience.bsky.social April 29-May 8 2026. www.mbl.edu/education/ad... Apply here for this amazing opportunity!

⏱️ Deadline to apply for AQLM 2026 is today! ⏱️ Get your applications in to be considered for this year's course. Make sure your recommenders submit their letters as well! #microscopy #imaging #fluorescence #biology #optics #AQLM

🚨 Don't forget! Applications are due Friday 1/30 for AQLM 2026. Please remember to submit on time and remind your recommenders to get their letters in too! Photos are from AQLM 2023, 2024, and 2025. Will you be in the 2026 class photo? buff.ly/0XCAKm4

Only a few days left to apply for a life-changing microscopy experience @aqlm.bsky.social @mblscience.bsky.social Application here www.mbl.edu/education/ad...

Do you know what this is? The obvious answer is that it's the point spread function of a diffraction limited fluorescent bead. What you'll learn at AQLM is that it's also an effective tool for benchmarking your microscope! Aberrations can't hide when it comes to a single bead. buff.ly/0XCAKm4

Are you passionate about #microscopy? 🔬 Want to build a strong foundation in #imaging skills? One week left to apply for AQLM 2026 at the incomparable Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA. @mblscience.bsky.social buff.ly/0XCAKm4

We've posted a lot recently about the amazing qualities of AQLM: the incredible faculty, the breadth of imaging topics, the amazing educational experience. Can we pause and just admire the view from the snack room? buff.ly/0XCAKm4 @mblscience.bsky.social

Think you might be interested in attending AQLM? Come meet the directors and ask any questions you may have about the course and if it's the right fit for you! 🔬 Info session ⏰ Tomorrow, Tuesday 1/20 at 12pm EST 📍 Register here: forms.gle/vnsNe44L5kEZ...

The capstone of AQLM is the Inoué Lecture, held in honor of founder Dr. Shinya Inoue. His catch phrase, "keep your cells happy and optics clean!" is just one of his bits of wisdom that we hope to instill in every AQLM student. Read more about his history- buff.ly/ft954D2 @mblscience.bsky.social

On the final day of AQLM, we also have a special, hand on session with OpenUC2 @openuc2.bsky.social! They come all the way from Germany to spend a few hours helping us build cube-based microscopes. The perfect book-end to day 1 rails! Apply now to join us- bit.ly/49YQl7q @mblscience.bsky.social

Did you miss our last info session? Don't worry, we're having another one! What is AQLM? What will I learn? What will it be like? Are there snacks? We will answer these and any other burning questions. Join us! 🔬 📆 January 20 ⏰ 12:00 pm EST 📍Zoom! Register here forms.gle/Q5KifPS6TtEe...

Don't miss out. Apply to our 2026 Advanced Research Training Courses today!