#atomic force microscope

Imagine how petty the Amazon review could be. "After using my Atomic Force Microscope, I discovered that this sandpaper was 1 micron too large. 0/5 stars" from mtndew314

which is a response to this comment

Year ago I reviewed cleaning filament for 3D printers on aliexpress and I wrote that it's not nylon or polipropylene and couple months after, one guy use FTIR to determine material and he found it's pure polyethylene. Screenshot from FTIR was attached xD from bartoszpiszczek

in response to this comment (my first comment)

Yeah, but this one would get me, hard. If I needed nylon I need nylon, which ever number it was & or the multiple nylons put together. I'd be incredibly grateful for that review. As for the amazon one, I'd say its important for those who need those highly specific degrees of accuracy, but for others it would be a little much, like oh if it doesn't matter don't listen to this review, but if it does & it might mean something... yeah don't get it. just saying.

my second comment

Time for calibrations, chamber, & a bit of cleaning up around it so dust doesn't get in the way of your results, when it matters. Lint free & hood, in a super clean box would be easier to be fair. Yes, nigel i do think a vacuum would be easier & work quite well, but its up to you. I heard you ask me.

Wrinkle in Time

The tiny C. elegans worm is a model organism popular in studies ranging from nerve cell development to ageing. Now, researchers have used atomic force microscopy to capture highly detailed images of the worm’s cuticle – the equivalent to our skin – and on it performed highly sensitive stiffness measurements, the equivalent of testing our tissues’ ability to withstand external pressure during ageing. Like in humans, where wrinkles imply old age and the skin hangs loosely, in old worms, both the quality of the cuticle and stiffness of the worm decrease with age (young worm cuticle pictured top, old below). However, when worms were subjected to different diets, drugs and alterations to their genetics that could increase lifespan, not all led to a stiffer worm with ‘better skin’ – measures of extended healthspan. Ultimately, the work implies that for healthy ageing we may need separate interventions; one to increase longevity, and one to make sure we stay healthier for longer.

Read more about this research at the MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences here

Written by Sophie Arthur

Image from work by Clara Essmann and colleagues

Host Microbe Co-Metabolism group, MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences, London, UK

Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Published in Nature Communications, February 2020

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