Quartz Imaging in Published Research

A New Species Was Just Discovered — Hidden Inside a Vulnerable Seagrass in Southeast Asia.

Seagrasses are among the most important ecosystems on the planet.

They shelter juvenile fish, sequester carbon, and stabilize coastlines. Yet the microscopic threats living inside them remain largely uncharted.

A research team led by Viktorie Kolátková at the University of Victoria set out to change that.

The Obstacle:
The genus Marinomyxa consists of obligate intracellular parasitic protists known to infect tropical seagrasses of the genus Halophila. Until now, only two species had been formally described. But mounting evidence suggested the diversity of these parasites was far greater than morphology alone could reveal.

The Solution:
The team combined molecular sequencing, phylogenetic analysis, and microscopy to investigate Marinomyxa infections across multiple Halophila species and geographies, from Thailand and the Philippines to Puerto Rico and New Caledonia. Scanning electron microscopy was performed using a Hitachi S-3500N SEM, with Quartz PCI software used for image acquisition. The SEM micrographs provided critical visual confirmation of the characteristic cell-wall protuberances on resting spores, a defining feature used to identify and differentiate Marinomyxa species.

The findings revealed two significant discoveries. First, a previously undescribed parasite in the vulnerable intertidal seagrass Halophila beccarii from Southeast Asia, now formally named Marinomyxa denhartogi sp. nov. in honour of the late Dutch botanist Cornelis den Hartog, who first observed the organism in 1996. Second, the cosmopolitan seagrass Halophila decipiens from Puerto Rico was confirmed as an additional host of Marinomyxa halophilae, extending the known range of this parasite well beyond the Indo-Pacific.

The Humanity:
Seagrass ecosystems are under mounting pressure from climate change, biological invasions, and coastal development. Understanding the parasites that live within them is not an academic exercise. It is a prerequisite for predicting how these ecosystems will respond as conditions change, and for protecting the communities and species that depend on them.

All rights for the excerpts and images remain with the authors and the full article is found here

Kolátková, V., Rattanachot, E., Dieppa, A., & Gawryluk, R.M.R. (2026). First report of Marinomyxa spp. (Rhizaria: Endomyxa: Phytomyxea) infection in seagrasses Halophila beccarii and Halophila decipiens: Supporting evidence for a long-standing symbiosis. Plant Pathology.

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Healthier Animals, Fewer Antibiotics. Science Is Showing Us How.

Weaning is one of the most stressful transitions a young animal faces.

The rumen is still developing. The immune system is under pressure. And in commercial livestock production, the traditional response has been antibiotics, which work, but at a cost to the animal's microbial balance and long-term health.

Researchers at the Gansu Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Gansu Agricultural University set out to find a better path.

The Obstacle:
Young Hu sheep transitioning off maternal milk need support for rumen development and immune function. The question was whether a natural probiotic could deliver that support reliably, at the right dose, over time.

The Solution:
The team fed 45 weaned male lambs one of three diets for 60 days: a standard basal diet, or the same diet supplemented with Bacillus subtilis at either 100 mg/kg or 200 mg/kg. Rumen tissue was collected at 30 and 60 days and examined using a FEI Quanta 200 scanning electron microscope. Quartz PCI 10.0 was used to acquire and analyze the SEM images, capturing structural changes in the rumen epithelial tissue across treatment groups.

The Humanity:
The results were clear. Both supplementation groups showed taller rumen papillae, higher total volatile fatty acid production, and reduced inflammatory markers compared to the control.

After 60 days, the 100 mg/kg dose proved optimal, sustaining the structural and immune benefits without the microbiome disruption seen at higher doses.

Better rumen development means more efficient feed conversion. A stronger immune system means healthier animals with less reliance on antibiotics. That matters for farmers, for food systems, and for the animals themselves.

All rights for the excerpts and images remain with the authors and the full article is found here

Sherwood, J. (2025).
NatZhao, H., Liu, L., Wang, Z., Sha, Y., & Song, S. (2026). Dietary Bacillus subtilis modulates rumen epithelial barrier function and immune responses in weaned Hu sheep. Scientific Reports, 16, 17089.

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Protecting the Strawberry Fields of British Columbia: One Tiny Weevil at a Time.

A destructive pest arrived in southwestern British Columbia in 2019.

The strawberry blossom weevil (Anthonomus rubi) cuts flower buds from their stems before they can bloom, causing serious damage to strawberry and other berry crops in the Rosaceae family.

The problem:
It arrived without the natural enemies that keep its populations in check in Europe, its native range.

That is the obstacle growers and researchers are still working to solve.

Jade Sherwood, through the University of British Columbia's Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, took a systematic approach.

Working with collaborators from the EU-based Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International (CABI), the research surveyed the weevil across 12 European countries to identify parasitoid species that naturally control it.

The result:
12 parasitoid species identified, including seven not previously recorded as being associated with A. rubi.

To document the weevil's morphology with precision, the team used a Hitachi S-2500 scanning electron microscope, with Quartz PCI software handling image acquisition, measurement, and annotation.

SEM images were captured at magnifications of 70x to 110x at 10kV, producing the high-resolution reference data needed to accurately measure and compare specimens across pronotum, rostrum, and tibia structures.

In the introduced range of BC, the research also found that larger strawberry buds produce larger, likely fitter weevils, a finding with direct practical implications for how future biocontrol agents should be reared and deployed.

This is the groundwork that makes targeted, chemical-free pest management possible: protecting the berry crops that farmers and communities in BC depend on.

All rights for the excerpts and images remain with the authors and the full thesis is found here

Sherwood, J. (2025).
Native range surveys for natural enemies of Anthonomus rubi and effects of host plant bud size in the introduced range [Master's thesis, University of British Columbia]. UBC cIRcle.

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What if the key to unlocking cancer immunotherapy was already living inside you?

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Immunotherapy has changed the game, but too many patients still do not respond. Scientists have long suspected gut bacteria play a role. Now, there is evidence of exactly how.

A research team publishing in Nature Communications identified that tiny nano-sized vesicles shed by Bifidobacterium, a common gut commensal, can travel from the intestine, cross tissue barriers, and accumulate directly inside lung tumors.

Once there, they prime tumor cells to express more PD-L1. That makes the cancer more visible, and more vulnerable, to anti-PD-1 immunotherapy.

In mouse models, combining these vesicles with anti-PD-1 significantly reduced tumor growth, increased tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cells, and shifted the tumor immune environment toward an anti-cancer state.

To map exactly where and how this was happening inside tumor tissue, the team turned to spatial profiling using the NanoString GeoMx Digital Spatial Profiling instrument, with image analysis supported by Quartz PCI.

The result: a measurable, spatially resolved picture of PD-L1 upregulation and immune cell infiltration across treatment groups.

The gut-lung axis is no longer a hypothesis. It is a potential therapeutic target, and imaging made it visible.

All rights for the excerpts and images remain with the authors and the full article is found here.

Preet, R., Islam, M.A., Shim, J. et al. Gut commensal Bifidobacterium-derived extracellular vesicles modulate the therapeutic effects of anti-PD-1 in lung cancer. Nature Communications 16, 3500 (2025).

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Clean water is not a luxury. It is a right. And science is finding new ways to protect it.

Synthetic dyes from industrial processes are among the most persistent and harmful contaminants in our water systems.

Conventional treatment methods struggle to break them down.

A research team at the University of Cagliari set out to change that. They developed nanocomposites using a simple, sustainable ingredient: an extract from the microalgae Chlorella vulgaris.

No hazardous chemicals. No energy-intensive processes.

The result was a photocatalytic material capable of breaking down Congo Red, a toxic industrial dye, using UV light.

To characterize the material at the nanoscale, the team used Quartz PCI to process their SEM micrographs, capturing the hierarchical structure of the nanocomposites with precision.

The findings: up to 49% dye removal in 180 minutes, at a low catalyst loading, with performance that held steady across varying light intensities.

That last point matters. It means the system does not need to be pushed harder to work. It is already operating efficiently.

Cleaner water, greener chemistry, and a more rational use of energy. That is the direction this research points.

All rights for the excerpts and images remain with the authors and the full article is found here.

Zedda, F., Atzori, F., Casu, S., Sidorowicz, A., Fais, G., Desogus, F., Licheri, R., Porcu, S., Cao, G., Lutzu, G.A., & Concas, A. (2026). Green-Synthesized Ag/Zn Nanocomposites from Chlorella vulgaris Polar Extract: Sustainable Photocatalytic Water Remediation and Kinetic Modeling. Sustainability, 18, 4607.

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Cleaner Water for More People Could Start with Using Less to Make More

Arsenic in drinking water is a global health crisis affecting hundreds of millions of people.

Existing filtration membranes can remove it, but they are expensive and material-intensive to produce.

A research team at the University of Girona in Spain set out to change that.

Their approach was to deposit polymer inclusion membranes onto simple porous supports, such as cellulose filter paper and commercial PVDF membrane, using up to 75% less material than conventional methods.

To confirm the membranes were properly formed and structurally sound, the team used scanning electron microscopy with Quartz PCI software to evaluate surface morphology, layer uniformity, and the adhesion between the polymer phase and the porous support.

The results were compelling. The supported membranes achieved 90 to 95% arsenic transport efficiency, comparable to standard membranes, and retained around 70% efficiency after three reuse cycles.
Less material. Equal performance. Reusable.

This is the kind of innovation that makes water purification technology more accessible, more sustainable, and ultimately more equitable for communities that need it most.

All rights for the excerpts and images remain with the authors and the full article is found here.

Khatir N, Anticó E, Fontàs C. A Novel Supported Polymer Inclusion Membrane Concept for Reagent-Efficient Membrane Design. Membranes. 2026;16(4):135.

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A 3D scaffold that could change how we grow cells — and one day, how we heal.

Traditional cell culture substrates have a fundamental limitation.
They are flat. Rigid. Poor at mimicking the real environment inside the human body.

Researchers at the University of North Dakota set out to change that.

The Obstacle:
Growing vascular cells in a way that reflects how they actually behave in living tissue requires a scaffold with tunable porosity, flexibility, and biocompatibility. Existing materials could not reliably deliver all three.

The Solution:
The team engineered a graphene oxide-based porous 3D mesh, combining graphene oxide with polyethylene glycol and a salt-leaching process to create a scaffold with precisely controllable pore size and mechanical properties. To characterize the mesh structure and analyze the cells cultured within it, the team used a scanning electron microscope paired with Quartz PCI software for imaging and pore size analysis across 500 pores per sample.

The Humanity:
When vascular endothelial cells and fibroblasts were cultured on this scaffold, they did not just survive. They organized themselves into structures resembling capillaries, the smallest blood vessels in the body. That is a meaningful step toward building lab environments that could accelerate drug testing, reduce animal trials, and eventually support tissue engineering for human medicine.

A patent granted. A foundation laid.

All rights for the excerpts and images remain with the inventors and assignee. The full patent is found here.

US Patent No. 12,077,776 B2 — Zhang, Y., Zhao, J.X., Darland, D. — University of North Dakota. Granted: September 3, 2024.

Congratulations to the inventors on the grant of this patent, and thank you for including Quartz PCI in your work.

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Understanding How Plants Grow Could Help Us Feed the World.

Every crop plant depends on healthy cell division and reproduction to thrive.

When those processes go wrong, yields drop, flowers fail, and growth stalls.

Understanding why is one of the most important questions in plant biology.

A research team at the University of Toronto, Scarborough set out to investigate what happens when a gene called HOP2, normally active only during meiosis, becomes overexpressed in the common research plant Arabidopsis.

The results were striking. Plants with elevated HOP2 levels showed stunted growth, misshapen flowers, altered leaf patterns, and severely reduced fertility.

To document the structural defects at the cellular level, the team used scanning electron microscopy with images captured using Quartz PCI.

The SEM micrographs revealed detailed floral organ abnormalities that would have been impossible to characterize with light microscopy alone.

The findings open a new window into how a single gene, when expressed at the wrong time or in the wrong place, can cascade into widespread developmental failure.

That knowledge brings us closer to understanding the genetic switches that govern plant health, resilience, and ultimately, food production.

All rights for the excerpts and images remain with the authors and the full article is found here.

Garrido AN, Francom T, Divan S, Kesserwan M, Daradur J, Riggs CD. Overexpression of HOP2 induces developmental defects and compromises growth in Arabidopsis. bioRxiv. 2021.

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A next-generation dental adhesive has matched commercial standards — without Bisphenol A.

Dental restorations fail from the inside out.

Water seeps into the bond, collagen degrades, and the restoration fails before it should.

Researchers at Instituto Universitário Egas Moniz tackled this by replacing Bis-GMA with a novel dendrimer called G-IEMA, creating a BPA-free adhesive built to last longer.

The obstacle: existing universal adhesives attract and retain water at the bonding interface, the primary driver of long-term failure.

The solution: a reformulated adhesive with lower hydrophilicity, tested against two leading commercial products across four adhesive groups and two bonding strategies.

Quartz PCI software was used to analyze silver nitrate penetration along the dentin interface, delivering the precise imaging needed to quantify nanoleakage at the microscopic level.

After three months of aging, both experimental adhesives showed significantly less nanoleakage than the commercial alternatives.
Bond strength matched commercial adhesives from day one.

The humanity: restorations that hold longer mean fewer repeat procedures, less chair time, and better long-term outcomes for patients.

All rights for the excerpts and images remain with the authors and the full article is found here.

Vasconcelos e Cruz, J., Delgado, A.H.S., Félix, S., Brito, J., Gonçalves, L., & Polido, M. (2022). Improving Properties of an Experimental Universal Adhesive by Adding a Multifunctional Dendrimer (G-IEMA): Bond Strength and Nanoleakage Evaluation. Polymers, 14(7), 1462.

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Unlocking a 20-Million-Year-Old Geological Mystery to Better Understand Our Planet

For over 30 years, the origin of unusual dolomite formations in Kuwait's Al-Subiya sabkha had scientists puzzled.

How does a rare mineral form in sediment with no obvious precursor, in the middle of an ancient coastal mud volcano?
That was the obstacle.

A research team from the University of Toronto set out to investigate a recently discovered early-middle Miocene mud volcano outcrop, combining field sampling with geochemical analysis, electron probe microanalysis, and scanning electron microscopy.

Quartz PCI image management software was used for SEM image acquisition, helping the team capture and document the fine-scale mineral structures at the heart of the mystery.

The findings revealed that dolomite formation was driven by an interconnected set of conditions: hydrocarbon seepage, hypersaline seawater, and the burrowing activity of ancient crustaceans that created channels for methane-rich fluids to mix with the surrounding sediment.

Understanding how and where dolomite forms matter beyond geology.

Dolomite-bearing formations are significant hydrocarbon reservoirs worldwide, and this research adds a critical piece to our understanding of how Earth's subsurface systems work.

All rights for the excerpts and images remain with the authors and the full article is found here.

Alibrahim, A., Duane, M. J., & Dittrich, M. (2021). Dolomite genesis in bioturbated marine zones of an early-middle Miocene coastal mud volcano outcrop (Kuwait). Scientific Reports, 11, 6636.

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Building Stronger Materials for a Healthier, More Sustainable World.

Advances in materials science are helping improve the reliability of technologies used in healthcare, environmental monitoring, and beyond.

This research examines how physical aging impacts the fracture behavior of chalcogenide glass fibers, materials widely used in infrared sensing and biosensing applications. Understanding how these fibers change over time is critical to ensuring long-term performance and durability in real-world conditions.

By analyzing fracture surfaces and key mechanical properties such as tensile strength and flaw depth, the study provides valuable insight into how environmental factors influence material integrity.

Quartz Imaging is proud to be associated through the use our software.

This work highlights how advanced imaging and analysis tools contribute to building more reliable materials that ultimately support human health and environmental sustainability.

This paper was published on ScienceDirect.com

All rights for the excerpts and images remain with the authors.

Yang, G., Chen, H., Boussard-Plédel, C., Sangleboeuf, J.-C., Bureau, B. Effect of physical aging on fracture behavior of Te₂As₃Se₅ glass fibers. Ceramics International, 2015.

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