Adolfo Sánchez-Blanco, Ph.D

When someone ingests a poison (some type of chemical or an excessive amount of a drug…), the patient is often given an activated charcoal solution (a medical-grade type of charcoal that is free of chemical impurities and has a lot more adsorptive power than regular charcoal). The activated charcoal will bind toxins and chemicals in the stomach and intestines. This prevents the poison from being absorbed into the bloodstream. The poison-charcoal complex then continues through the digestive tract and is eventually eliminated from the body. . Activated charcoal is particularly effective at adsorbing (trapping) organic poisons, such as pesticides and certain medications (e.g., aspirin and acetaminophen). . Because activated charcoal prevents toxins from being absorbed into the bloodstream, it is most effective when given soon after ingestion of the poison (ideally within the first hour or two). . I am amazed at how well the regular charcoal I used in the video cleared out the methylene blue from the water in less than an hour. I can see why activated charcoal is also used in water filters, air purification systems... . For this video I used an Olympus CX31 microscope at 40x and 100x magnification. #microscope #microscopy #charcoal #waterpurification #drbioforever

Bubbles under the microscope are incredibly beautiful. . I love that when using polarized light, the edge of the bubbles produces a micro-rainbow. Did you see those pretty micro-rainbows? . In the first part of the video, when I added a drop of water to the bubbles, they floated on top of the water and the bubbles looked like microscopic jewels moving around. . In case you’re wondering why bubbles form when water and soap are mixed and shaken, it’s because a bubble consists of a thin layer of water trapped between two layers of soap molecules. Soap molecules are amphiphilic (they have hydrophilic heads and hydrophobic tails). The hydrophilic heads face inward toward the water layer, and the hydrophobic tails face outward, away from the water and towards the air. . In the second part of the video, you can see the bubbles that formed in a natural stream of water in the middle of the forest. . These bubbles happen because when organic matter in the forest decomposes (leaves, dead plants…), it can produce compounds that behave as soap molecules (surfactants). These compounds, when mixed with water, can create bubbles and foam (especially if the water gets agitated due to a turbulent flow of water). . This type of foam that you can see in water streams may be more noticeable after a period of heavy rainfall, when the water is carrying more of these dissolved surfactant compounds. These other “natural soap” bubbles are also incredibly beautiful under the microscope! . The shapes of nature are so beautiful! . For this video I used an Olympus CX31 microscope at 40x and 100X magnification and a polarizer filter. #bubbles #microscopy #microscope #polarizedlight #naturalshapes #naturalpatterns #artinnature #drbioforever

Your body doesn’t just have one circulatory system, it has two! In addition to the blood circulatory system, there’s the lymphatic system. Instead of blood, this system circulates lymph, a clear fluid similar to plasma in composition. . At the level of your capillary beds, some plasma from the blood seeps out and becomes interstitial fluid. Some of this fluid is collected by lymphatic vessels, where it is now called lymph, and begins its journey through the lymphatic system. . About 600 lymph nodes are connected along these lymphatic vessels. These nodes act as the filter cartridges of the lymphatic system. As lymph circulates, it passes through lymph nodes in your neck, armpits, chest, and other areas. These tiny, bean-shaped nodes are packed with white blood cells, which will trap and remove harmful particles like bacteria, viruses, debris, etc. from your lymph. . Eventually, the lymphatic circulation reconnects with the blood circulation (at the subclavian veins), allowing the filtered lymph rejoins the bloodstream. . By the way, when your body detects a threat such as an infection, the immune cells in your lymph nodes start multiplying to better fight off the infection. This increased activity causes the nodes to swell. That’s why, for example, when you have a sore throat, the lymph nodes in your neck may feel tender and lumpy. . For this video I used a Leica ZOOM 200 stereoscope and an Olympus BX41 microscope at up to 1000x magnification. #microscopy #microscope #histology #lymphnodes #lymph #immunity #lymphaticsystem #drbioforever

Blood is a vehicle for the transportation of materials around the body. The most time-sensitive material that blood transports is oxygen, which is carried by hemoglobin proteins within red blood cells (RBCs). This is why RBCs are the most abundant cellular component in blood. I think it is amazing that in just 1 microliter of blood there are more than 4 million RBCs. Keep in mind that each RBC contains more than 250 million hemoglobin proteins (each hemoglobin protein complex can transport up to 4 oxygen molecules). . If you look at a fresh sample of blood under the microscope, it is difficult to see anything other than RBCs. This is because >99.9% of the cells in blood are RBCs. However, if you look closely, you can also see white blood cells (WBCs). There are different types of WBCs, each WBC type specialized in different immune defense functions. The most abundant type of WBC in blood is neutrophils, which are constantly patrolling the bloodstream, searching for bacteria, fungi, and other pathogens that may have infected your body. . WBCs are incredibly complex. For example, lymphocytes can differentiate into specialized types and generate immune responses that are specific to different pathogens. One function of specialized lymphocytes is to produce antibodies that target specific pathogens. . Blood also has a built-in repair system in case a blood vessel is damaged. The two key components of this system are fibrinogen (a protein transported by blood plasma) and platelets (cell fragments containing enzymes that regulate the process of coagulation). . All of this explains why blood analyses provide such important insights into what is happening inside the body. This is why blood testing is such a crucial part of any general medical examination that you get. . For this video I used an Olympus BX41 microscope at up to 1000x magnification. #microscopy #microscope #histology #physiology #hematology #drbioforever