See the intricate worlds of parasites and algae — March’s best science images

Expansion microscopy. This small colony of green algae ( Stephanosphaera pluvialis ) was captured using an imaging technique called expansion microscopy . These freshwater algae normally live in rainwater puddles and rock pools. Here, their microtubules have been labelled in green, and areas of high protein density labelled in magenta. The method involves physically enlarging biological samples by embedding them in a polymer gel that swells. Felix Mikus, Dudin & Dey Labs Sleeping parasites. Trypanosomid flagellates ( Blechomonas lauriereadi ) are parasites that live in the extracellular spaces — typically in their hosts’ blood plasma and body fluids. The parasites can cause sleeping sickness if they infect humans, and animal trypanosomiasis in cattle and horses. Here, the organisms’ microtubules are labelled in pink and their extensive mitochondria in green, using expansion microscopy. The images are part of ongoing efforts to build an atlas of microbial eukaryotes . Felix Mikus, Dudin & Dey Labs Lucero’s journey. Lucero, an eastern Pacific leatherback turtle ( Dermochelys coriacea ) in Ecuador, is the first of her species to receive a satellite tag, for scientists to track her location. …