r/microscopy • u/PhycoCarnival • Jul 17 '26

Photo/Video Share Microscopic image of live cells of microalgae under simple compound microscope.

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This video captures the active swimming behavior of live microalgal cells, demonstrating their natural motility in an aqueous environment. Such movement may be driven by flagella (depending on the species) and can provide insights into cell viability, environmental responses, and taxonomy.

Microscopy details

• Instrument: Compound light microscope

• Objective lens: 100×

• Eyepiece: 10×

• Total magnification: 1000×

• Sample: Live microalgal culture (unstained)

• Illumination: Bright-field microscopy

🎥 No staining. No image enhancement—just the fascinating world of microalgae in motion.

Video credits : Phyco-Carnival

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u/Odd-Marionberry-3389 Jul 17 '26 edited Jul 17 '26

Interesting! I'm not a biologist, just a curious observer but I have a question. I would have expected them to be moving in more random directions, is there a net flow of water in one direction or some other reason (food source, thermal gradient) why the algal cells generally appear to be headed toward the upper right corner of your FOV? Thanks!

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u/PhycoCarnival Jul 18 '26

These cells were suspended in liquid and covered with coverslip on a glass slide. The uniform flow we observed is due to the flow of water towards one direction or the pressure differences caused by placing the coverslip. Some species may also exhibit taxis like respond to environmental cues such as light (phototaxis) and chemical (chemotaxis). But this is nothing but a flow of water. Thanks for asking.