This 3rd Place-winning entry is a view of the olfactory bulbs of a Zebrafish, viewed at a magnification of 250x. Image made by Oliver Braubach from the Department of Physiology & Biophysics, Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada. (Courtesy of Nikon Small World)
A Bryozoa, a tiny aquatic filter-feeder is seen at 20x magnification. Image made by Jocelyn Cheng of the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York. (Courtesy of Nikon Small World).
The Nikon International Small World Photomicrography Competition recently announced its list of winners for 2010. The competition began in 1974 as a means to recognize and applaud the efforts of those involved with photography through the light microscope.
Peering into the small worlds of animal, plants and minerals using many techniques and different instruments, this year’s entries brought us images of crystalline formations, fluorescent body parts, cellular structures and more, valuable for both their beauty and insight.
The lovely folks at Nikon were kind enough to share some of their images here with us, be sure to click the link above to see all the winners.
Pekka Honkakoski of Sonkajarvi, Finland brings us this image of a snow crystal magnified 40 times. (Courtesy of Nikon Small World).
Dr. Gregory Rouse took 12th Place with this darkfield image of a juvenile bivalve mollusc, (Lima sp.), magnified 10 times. Dr. Rouse is from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California. (Courtesy of Nikon Small World).
found on nikonsmallworld.com
Nikon International Small World Photomicrography Competition
Norway comprises the western part of Scandinavia in Northern Europe. The rugged coastline, broken by huge fjords and thousands of islands, stretches 25,000 kilometres (16,000 mi) and 83,000 kilometres (52,000 mi) including fjords and islands. Norway shares a 1,619-kilometre (1,006 mi) land border with Sweden, 727 kilometres (452 mi) with Finland and 196 kilometres (122 mi) with Russia at the east. To the north, west and south, Norway is bordered by the Barents Sea, the Norwegian Sea, the North Sea and Skagerrak.
At 385,252 square kilometres (148,747 sq mi) (including Svalbard and Jan Mayen), much of the country is dominated by mountainous or high terrain, with a great variety of natural features caused by prehistoricglaciers and varied topography. The most noticeable of these are the fjords: deep grooves cut into the land flooded by the sea following the end of the Ice Age. The longest is Sognefjorden at 204 kilometres (127 mi). Sognefjorden is the world’s second deepest fjord, and Hornindalsvatnet is the deepest lake in Europe.[49] Frozen ground all year can be found in the higher mountain areas and in the interior ofFinnmark county. Numerous glaciers are found in Norway.
The land is mostly made of hard granite and gneiss rock, but slate, sandstone and limestone are also common, and the lowest elevations contain marine deposits. Because of the Gulf Stream and prevailing westerlies, Norway experiences higher temperatures and more precipitation than expected at such northern latitudes, especially along the coast. The mainland experiences four distinct seasons, with colder winters and less precipitation inland. The northernmost part has a mostly maritime Subarctic climate, while Svalbard has an Arctic tundra climate.
The southern and western parts of Norway experience more precipitation and have milder winters than the southeastern part. The lowlands around Oslo have the warmest and sunniest summers but also cold weather and snow in wintertime (especially inland). Average temperatures have risen the last decades, decreasing the amount of days with snow cover in the lowlands.[citation needed]
Because of the large latitudinal range of the country and the varied topography and climate, Norway has a larger number of different habitats than almost any other European country. There are approximately 60,000 species in Norway and adjacent waters (excluding bacteria and virus). The Norwegian Shelf large marine ecosystem is considered highly productive.
found on wikipwsia.org
photography by Anders Bjordal /andersbjordal.com
Norway coastline – the worlds longest & probably the most spectacular in the world
Cancun, Mexico
Playa del Carmen
Marvelling at a 1300-year-old Maya palace at Palenque as parrots screech and howler monkeys growl in the sweaty emerald jungle around you. This is Mexico. Sliding from a palm-fringed sandy beach into the warm, turquoise waves of the Pacific at Puerto Vallarta. This, too, is Mexico. Dining on salmon enchiladas and chrysanthemum salad at a Mexico City fusion restaurant, dancing through the night at a high-energy Guadalajara nightclub, kayaking at dawn past a colony of Baja California sea lions – all these are unique Mexican experiences. Every visitor goes home with their own unforgettable images. Such a large country, straddling temperate and tropical zones, reaching 5km into the sky and stretching 10,000km along its coasts, with a city of 19 million people at its center and countless tiny pueblos everywhere, can hardly fail to provide a huge variety of options for human adventure.
Mexico is what you make of it. Its multi-billion-dollar tourism industry is adept at satisfying those who like their travel easy. But adventure is what you’ll undoubtedly have if you take a just a few steps off the pre-packaged path. Activity-based tourism, community tourism and genuine ecotourism – the type that actually helps conserve local environments – are developing fast in rural areas. The opportunities for getting out to Mexico’s spectacular wild places and interacting with local communities are greater than ever – from world-class canyoneering near Monterrey or cooking lessons in the Veracruz countryside to hiking the Oaxaca cloud forests and snorkeling the coral reefs of the Yucatán.
Planning your first trip to Mexico? Be ready for more crowds, noise, bustle and poverty than you’re accustomed to, especially if it’s your first trip outside the developed world. But don’t worry – most Mexicans will be only too happy to help you feel at home in their country. Invest a little time before your trip in learning even just a few phrases of Spanish – every word you know will make your trip that little bit easier and more enjoyable.
Tulum, Mexico
The staples of Mexican cuisine are typically corn and beans. Corn, traditionally Mexico’s staple grain, is eaten fresh, on the cob, and as a component of a number of dishes. Most corn, however, is used to make masa, a dough for tamales, tortillas, gorditas, and many other corn-based foods. Squash and peppers also play important roles in Mexican cuisine.
The most important and frequently used spices in Mexican cuisine are chili powder, cumin, oregano, cilantro, epazote, cinnamon, and cocoa.Chipotle, a smoke-dried jalapeño chili, is also common in Mexican cuisine. Many Mexican dishes also contain garlic and onions.
Next to corn, rice is the most common grain in Mexican cuisine. According to food writer Karen Hursh Graber, the initial introduction of rice toSpain from North Africa in the 4th Century led to the Spanish introduction of rice into Mexico at the port of Veracruz in the 1520s. This, Graber says, created one of the earliest instances of the world’s greatest fusion cuisines.
found on lonelyplanet.com
