#microCT scan of the left palpal bulb (male copulatory organ) of a grass spider I found wandering Beckman's hallways last week! 😍(He was on his last legs when he was preserved for the scan). Taken in the Microscopy Suite of @beckmanillinois.bsky.social and rendered in the Visualization Lab.

I thought it would be cool to take a #microCT scan of romanesco broccoli that came in my meal kit this week, and I was not disappointed! What a stunningly beautiful vegetable 🤯 The scan was taken with our Rigaku HX130 (@rigakucorporation.bsky.social) here at Beckman (@beckmanillinois.bsky.social)

A #microCT scan of a female American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis). Very pleased by how well this sample fixed and stained (fixed in ethanol, stained in 0.5% iodine) - turns out tick cuticle appears to be very porous! The high surface area to volume ratio also helped I'm sure.

Possibly my favorite #microCT scan I've done all year - A mosquito pupa (Culex pipiens)! 🥰

MicroCT scan of a silkworm cocoon. I was very excited that the silk fibers are big enough to pick up on the scan, incredible! The cocoon wall seems to be much thinner than it feels to the touch.

MicroCT scan of a wheel bug (Arilus cristatus).