Acquisition of Reflex Microscope

在国家科学基金会的支持下，Joan Richtsmeier博士将购买Reflex显微镜，用于特定研究项目的数据收集以及本科生和研究生的培训。Reflex显微镜代表了小型坐标测量机和表面轮廓仪的融合，非常适合在小的不规则表面上测量三维位置、距离和角度。该显微镜利用观察者的立体能力，将图像的表面沿着Z轴精确定位到几微米以内。这使得研究人员能够通过精确地定位地标上方的一个微小的照明点，并通过将该点的三维坐标写入计算机文件来划定该点，从而找到与生物相关的地标。Richtsmeier博士和他的同事开发了一套被称为欧几里德距离矩阵分析的形态测量方法，该方法可以定量描述和比较三维生物对象的形状、形状和生长，以及对样本进行聚类和分类。与反射显微镜相结合，这些技术将能够在三维上对现存和灭绝的小型生物进行定量分析。许多项目将由一系列的科学家进行。第一个将使用小鼠模型，重点研究哺乳动物头骨的发育和进化。利用转基因小鼠，将有可能确定单个基因对形态表达的影响。这项研究是基础的，因为所涉及的机制可能适用于广泛的物种。其他将用于显微镜的项目包括早期始新世哺乳动物的进化，牙齿和牙齿器皿的定量分析，以及骨骼的截面几何和生物力学。该仪器还将提供给学生，他们将接受使用指导。

With National Science Foundation support, Dr. Joan Richtsmeier will purchase a Reflex Microscope that will be used in data collection for specific research projects and in the training of undergraduate and graduate students. The Reflex Microscope represents a fusion between a small coordinate measuring machine and a surface profiler, and it is ideal for measuring locations, distances and angles in three dimensions on small irregular surfaces. The microscope uses the stereoscopic ability of the observer to pinpoint the surface of an image to within a few microns along the "Z" axis. This enables a researcher to find biologically relevant landmarks by precisely locating a tiny illuminated spot over the landmark and demarcating that point by writing the three-dimensional coordinates of the spot to a computer file. Dr. Richtsmeier and colleagues have developed a set of morphometric methods known as Euclidean Distance Matrix Analysis which allow quantitative description and comparison of form, shape and growth of biological objects in three dimensions as well as the clustering and classification of specimens. In conjunction with the Reflex Microscope these techniques will permit quantitative analysis of small biological forms, both extant and extinct in three dimensions. A number of projects will be conducted by a range of scientists. One of the first will focus on the development and evolution of the mammalian skull, using a murine model. Employing genetically modified mice, it will be possible to determine the effect of single genes on the expression of morphological form. This research is basic since the mechanisms involved will, presumably, apply across a wide range of species. Other projects for which the microscope will be employed involve the evolution of early Eocene mammals, the quantitative analysis of teeth and tooth ware and bone sectional geometry and biomechanics. The instrument will also be made available to students who will be instructed in its use.