Microscopic Wonders: The Science of Seeing the Invisible

This book takes the reader on a visual journey of the microscope and shares exciting stories about its development and the new technologies that exist that renders the invisible visible. The book begins with the history of microscopy and follows with the basics of various types of microscopy: brightfield, widefield, confocal, transmission electron, and scanning electron. All chapters feature stunning visuals. The history of the microscope is illustrated with paintings in the style of tattoos by tattoo artist Yingfayang tattoo, and the later chapters pair computer designed images and photography to stunning effect, passing on to the reader an appreciation not only for the scientific possibilities of microscopy, but also its artistic possibilities.

Abraham Rosas-Arellano, Ph.D.

Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from Neurobiology Institute of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). He has two Bachelor degrees, one of them in Biology and the other one in OB-Gyn Nursing, as well as a Master degree in Science, all of which were completed at UNAM. During his career he received an extense and comprehensive training in techniques and methodologies focused on fluorescent and electron microscopy. He has been awarded various scholarships from CONAHCYT, AMUHJ, and from The Society for Neuroscience. He is a member of the National System of Researchers in Mexico. He completed his postdoctoral research at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole Massachusetts (USA), Cinvestav-IPN in Zacatenco (Mexico City, Mexico), and at the Universidad Austral de Chile in Isla Teja (Chile). Additionally, he’s carried research stays at the synchrotrons of Stanford (SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory) and in Paris (Synchrotron Soleil, Paris-Saclay). Currently, he is part of the Imaging Unit staff at the Institute of Cellular Physiology at UNAM as specialist in brightfield, widefield, confocal, transmission electron, and scanning electron microscopy. He has been invited as a guest professor to teach specialized theoretical and practical microscopy courses both in and outside of Mexico. 

 Carmen Reyes Luna, MSc.

Carmen was born and raised in Mexico City. She obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacology and a Master of Science degree with Distinction in Precision Medicine at The University of Manchester (United Kingdom), same institution where she obtained “The Stellify Award” for volunteering, leadership, and ethical roles. She participated in her first research project with Dr. Ayse Latif, investigating monocarboxylate transporters in endometrial cancer. After her graduate studies Carmen returned to Mexico City with the intention of developing her research skills in neuroscience. She became part of the laboratory of Dr. Ramiro-Cortes at Institute of Cellular Physiology of the National Autonomous University of Mexico where she got involved in the study of network and engram aberrations present in animal models of Phelan-McDermid Syndrome. Currently, Carmen works as a scientist for Metsera in London, dealing with experimental treatments for diabetes and obesity. Her personal research interests, galvanized by being awarded a Psychedelic Science 2023 scholarship, include mental health and disease, neuroplasticity, and neurodegeneration.

Fabiola García Zamorategui, Pharmacobiologist chemist and Artist

Mexican Pharmacobiological Chemist and Artist dedicated to body tattooing since 2014, specializing in "Black & Grey Realism," sacred geometry with dotwork, and "Blackwork". She has built her career in studios such as “Studio Honour & Pride,” “Mala Sangre Tattoo Crew,” “Red Cloud Mavericks Tattoo Studio,” “Alacrania,” “Arcadia,” “Red,” “Cloud Mavericks,” “Diabolink,” and currently at “3 Seis Tattoo & Art Collective,” where she is known as Yinfayang Tattoo or Fabiola Zamorategui. She creates paintings using the "Chinese ink wash" technique and sculptures using papier-mâché, mouldable dough, and clay techniques. Recently, she has begun working as a book illustrator for various genres.

Ricardo Piña Muñoz, Ph.D.

He is a Ph.D. in Sciences with a specialization in Molecular Biology, Cellular Biology, and Neurosciences from the University of Chile. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Neurosciences at the University of Santiago de Chile and a postdoctoral internship at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (Germany). He is currently a titular Professor in the Department of Biology at the Metropolitan University of Educational Sciences located in the commune of Ñuñoa, Chile, where he engages in teaching and research activities. His research focuses on topics related to cellular biology and neurophysiology in the Central and Peripheral Nervous Systems at the cellular and molecular levels. 

Alfonso Cárabez Trejo, M.D., Ph.D.

Medical surgeon from the School of Medicine at National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). He holds a Ph.D. with a specialization in Biochemistry from the Faculty of Chemistry at UNAM. His various academic positions at the School of Medicine at UNAM include Laboratory Instructor in Biochemistry, Teaching Assistant, Adjunct Professor, Associate Professor, Course Lecturer, and main/titular Professor. Additionally, he served as a Principal Investigator at UNAM in the Department of Experimental Biology at the Institute of Biology, Institute of Cellular Physiology (IFC), and later at the Department of Developmental Neurobiology and Neurophysiology at the Institute of Neurobiology (INB), Campus Juriquilla. Internationally, he was Associate Researcher at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Research Assistant at Cornell University’s Division of Biological Sciences, and Visiting Professor at the University of Tennessee. His research focused on bioenergetics, particularly mitochondrial ATPase, and micromorphology. For this, he relied on transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. He was instrumental in excellency trainings of electron microscopy and in the establishment of microscopy units in Mexico, including the Electron Microscopy Unit at Cinvestav Irapuato, Microscopy Unit at INB – UNAM, and the Imaging Unit at IFC – UNAM. He is now retired. 

Yazmín Ramiro Cortés, Ph.D.

Researcher at the Institute of Cellular Physiology of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and is currently a member of the National System of Researchers. She studied Biology at the Meritorious Autonomous University of Puebla (BUAP) and then moved to Mexico City to pursue a Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences at the Institute of Cellular Physiology, UNAM. She subsequently completed a postdoctoral stay at the Gulbenkian Institute of Science at the Champalimaud Foundation in Portugal in the laboratory of Dr. Inbal Israely. In 2014 she joined the Institute of Cellular Physiology at UNAM, where she is a researcher and is also in charge of providing the service for the use and management of the two-photon excitation microscope. In her laboratory, the neural bases of autism spectrum disorder are studied in murine models, through the analysis of neuronal activity in vivo and the study of morphological changes of individual synapses and dendritic spines, as well as synaptic plasticity and neuronal activity related to learning. 

Gerardo Perera-Murcia, MSc.

Biologist who graduated from the Faculty of Sciences at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). He also completed his master’s degree and is currently finishing his doctorate, both master’s and Ph.D. degrees under supervision of Dr. Ramiro-Cortes at Institute of Cellular Physiology of the UNAM. His research is focused on analyzing changes in synaptic integration processes in models of autism at the Institute of Cellular Physiology with Dr. Yazmín Ramiro, who works on structural synaptic plasticity and neuronal activity in the visual cortex. Currently, he is an academic technician at the laboratory of Dr. Julio Moran, who studies neuronal death mechanisms at the Institute of Cellular Physiology, UNAM. In his spare time, he is a neuroscience lecturer at the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, also known as Technological Institute of Monterrey (campus Mexico City). Currently, his research interests include synaptic plasticity, two-photon microscopy, hippocampal physiology, structural plasticity, and neuronal cell death.