Let's hear it for van Leeuwenhoek!!

This week I am going to give thanks.  We all need the give thanks to the pioneers that paved the way for us, the budding scientist, biologists and innovators.
 
This week I'd like to give a special shout out to a late 17th century pioneer, Anton van Leeuwenhoek, the inventor and first user of the microscope, also know as the "father of the microscope".  His inspiration came from a set of glasses used by drapers to inspect the quality of the cloth in the factory.  van Leeuwenhoek taught himself the ins and outs of lenses and the ability to change the magnification by grinding and curving the lenses that he was using.  The best magnification of its time, 270x the diameter.    Below is an image of his invention, the first usable microscope.  Without his many failed attempts and his one victory, we would still be in the dark. 
 
Microscopes have come a long way since then and we have become very dependent on the functions preformed by it. I have been very fortunate this semester to use a great microscope for my experiments.  It is called a Zeiss Primo Star with an attached camera system called Axiocam. I am able to choose what type of magnification that I need ranging from 4x to 100x (oil immersion) which gives me the ability to see everything that is happening to my Microbes as my naked eye is nowhere as good.

van Leeuwenhoek was the first person to discover and view bacteria in a single drop of water, for this, I thank you.  My hay infusion experiment would never be able to reach its potential without his dedication to an idea. 
I hope that I or one of my fellow inters find or have a major breakthrough in their career that we will be able to read about in the history books.  Trial and error equals eventual success.  Good luck everyone, the race is on.