Considered by some as the 'Oscars of Photography'...

...the 'Int' Photography Awards / Lucy Awards' currently represent the most comprehensive photography contest at the international level.

Nedless to say that Micronaut feels very honored to be awarded 'International Photographer of the Year' in the category: 'SPECIAL-MICRO' professional by winning both, 1st and 2nd prize at the same time.

For the winning entry 'Cursed Knights' Micronaut is also nominated for the grand title. The name of the overall winner will be revealed on Monday, October 24th, 2011, during the annual IPA-celebration, Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, New York City.

More than a 1'000 words...

It's not a good photograph, really. But it tells you more than 1'000 words. Do you see the cool guy strolling in the background ?

That's Herbert the (...) cat - and he knows the full story!

PNAS Cover...

...a new Micronaut Cover has been released by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). It shows the interaction of an invisibly small pathogen (Helicobacter pylori) with human host cells.

A Surreal Creature...

...has come a long way to make it onto the 'Image of the Month' section, at Micronaut.ch

International Images for Science Exhibition...

Scientists have always needed to communicate their discoveries by pictorial documentation in the form of photographs. But despite the important role photography has played and still plays in scientific disciplines, the last exhibition of scientifically applied photographic pictures in London, dates back to 1974.

Therefore, The Royal Photographic Society has nominated 50 images from the world's leading, scientific photographers, researchers, engineers, technologists and scientists to create the 'International Images for Science' exhibition which is currently on show at Fenton House (Bath, UK).

It aims to present an overview on new technologies, which have revolutionized the field of scientific photography over the last 30 years: "We used to say: if you see it, you can photograph it. But today, you have to say: even if you don't see it, you can photograph it" says Exhibition Director Afzal Ansary, of The Royal Photographic Society... read more

Today's Backup-Skyline...

...reminds me on New York :-)

A new Miconaut cover...

...was recently published by 'The EMBO Journal' !

To illustrate the research area of muscular dystrophy, The magazine has decided to decorate their August 2011 cover with a color SEM image, depicting Mouse skeletal muscle fibres.

The image was prepared and captured by Micronaut in collaboration with Markus Ruegg's lab at the Biocenter, University of Basel, Switzerland... read more.

The new Micronaut Book is out... !

Micronavigating between Science + Art by Martin Oeggerli | Make Your Own Book

Napoleon's killer revealed

Helicobacter pylori is a bacterial pathogen involved in gastric cancer. The species' helix shape facilitates penetration into the mucoid lining of the stomach.

Recent research states that it shares a common past with modern humans for over 60'000 years. Historical data further suggests French Emperor Napoleon (1769-1821) as the most famous victim of this pathogen.

More images of bacteria on Micronaut.ch

'Image of the month' - June 2011

The new image of the month on Micronaut.ch shows the surface of a mosquito egg (Culex pipiens). European mosquitoes lay their water-repellent eggs directly onto the water surface, where they form large aggregations ('egg-rafts'). To avoid drowning, the eggs are equipped with a spectacular looking superhydrophobic surface. High-tech designed by nature... enjoy!

New Apprentice...

Cleo (-patra) eagerly follows any movements of the cursor, during the coloration process. Ready to catch unsuspecting prey, no matter how small (actually, the image section I was working on at that time, was magnified more than 8'000-times).

Mosquito pupae

Together with the most recent images, also the mosquito pupae can now be found in our newly updated insect section. See online gallery at Micronaut.ch

Great suspense to be expected...

An impressive private collection of parasites (gift of René Gerber, Switzerland) allows Micronaut to investigate "a mysterious world full of surprises".

Despite their notoriously bad reputation, parasites are outstanding -and often surprisingly beautiful- animals, which show remarkable adaptations to their way of life and host.

Believe it or not - you will see soon enough.

Open heart surgery...

Micronaut's ultra-fast new notebook, as it is being pimped with an additional 1 TB storage.

Drowning in the snow...

Around X-mas usually dozens of Micronaut calendars have to be shipped daily to places in Portugal, Italy, Canada, Taiwan, Australia, or the USA.

Whilst the vast majority travels fast and save, one piece got lost just around the corner (Germany). The german post has finally returned it with 3 months delay. However, the address turns out to be perfectly right (initially the official reason for the delivery failure) and the german post continued to explain, that they were unable to deliver the envelope due to heavy snow in December 2010. Right, but to return the package was no problem... must be kind of logic, but I don't get it.

Needless to say the customer will get his piece for free - at least if it does not fall victim to the upcoming summer heat... I keep you posted ;-)

'Image of the month' - March 2011...

The new image of the month on Micronaut.ch shows the beautiful pollen grains of a common snowdrop (magnification 1'370:1).

Ich bin ein Berliner...

...well, you know this is not true. But despite the cold, I very much enjoy my trip to Berlin. The river Spree carries sheets of ice - can't believe my eyes. I've never seen this in a river in Switzerland, actually.

'Images of Research' - 'Bilder der Forschung'...

...a slave of detail in front of his winning entry 'What's the face of cancer?', which was exhibited at large during the award ceremony in Berlin.

'Images of Research' represents one of the most popular scientific photography competitions worldwide. The jury annually presents outstanding images from two categories ('Fascination of Research' and 'Faces of Research'). In parallel, the traveling exhibition has attracted more than four million people since 2005.

'Images of Research' - 'Bilder der Forschung'...

...yes, it's the same guy, posing in front of another winning image (3rd place, category 'Fascination of Research' 2009). The image depicts two florets from a small composite plant (a daisy flower, to be precise) and thereby demonstrates intraspecific diversity as a powerful result of evolution acting over millions of years.

Micronaut has devoted this work to the english Naturalist Sir Charles Darwin, which was born 1809 and published the groundbraking theory about evolution through natural selection at the age of 50.

'Image of the Month' - Dec 2010...

...on Micronaut.ch (December 2010) shows prostate cancer cells cultured in vitro at the University Hospital in Basel. Exploring the functional properties and interaction of cancer cells leads to a better unterstanding of the progression from primary tumour to metastatic disease in the future.

Preparing, scanning and coloring the image took more than 1 week in total. The original frame measures 100x70 cm (39x27 in) and offers countless, most delicate cell-cell interactions.