A new $1.5 million super resolution microscope is producing spectacular images of bacteria and parasites, and making Australia a world leader in microscopy.

The DeltaVision OMX 3D-Sim Super-Resolution Microscope, recently acquired by the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), is one of only two in the world.

Speaking at the launch, UTS Chancellor Prof. Vicki Sara said, “As I understand it, I can fiddle with the genes in a cell, grow them up, put them on the microscope and I can actually look at the cellular effects that genetic manipulation has produced.”

“Not only that but I can directly stream all the results and images to my colleagues over in Stockholm so we can have true international collaboration in real time.”

The OMX microscope allows scientists to study the sub-cellular structures of bacteria and parasites, and their interactions with host cells, at a resolution twice as sharp as other light microscopes. It can also analyse the space between proteins in cells and how they are distributed in three dimensions.

The OMX is just one element in the suite of imaging instruments within the Microbial Imaging Facility. This PC2 facility will boost Australia’s capacity in biotechnology, health, biological and physical sciences research.

For more information: University of Technology, Sydney, Assoc. Prof. Cynthia Whitchurch, Tel: +61 (2) 9514 4144, cynthia.whitchurch@uts.edu.au, www.science.uts.edu.au/microbial