November 2, 2024

Science Snapshot: Breaking the Mold

Close up of spores from a slime mold in the genus LamprodermaAlison Pollack, thanks to NikonEven taken individually, the words “slime” and “mold” hardly ever create the word “stunning” but this photo shows that often, in order to see an organisms true appeal, you require to look actually, really carefully. Photographer Alison Pollack snapped this photo of fruiting bodies from a slime mold growing on leaves, according to her Instagram post. She explains that the spores are less than a millimeter high and she used a focus stacking method to expose all of the tiny details. Pollacks image took 5th place in the 2022 Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition.