Credits: Social Media
Place a sweet potato under a microscope and the ‘stunning’ galaxy of color is hard to believe
Social media users have become enthralled by a sweet potato behind held under a microscope, with the effect being described as a universe within a universe.
Chloe Savard, a microbiologist from Montr�al, regularly posts the most visually appealing content for her 1 million Instagram followers. Her photography, taken at microscopic levels, sheds light on the intricacies of just about everything around us.
The humble sweet potato has never looked so beautiful
You might look at the sweet potato as nothing more than the slightly fancier version of her bland cousin. But, one look under Chloes would undoubtedly change your perspective.
Back in December, the Canadian scientist took to her Instagram page where she shared a mesmerizing clip of a sweet potato under a microscope. After cutting the vegetable in half and removing a tiny portion, she placed it on a glass slide and under the scope. The results were truly magnificent.
While you could expect shades of brown and very scientific images, the reality was much more technicolor. Tiny specs of neon color flittered around the screen, with some shots even looking like straight animation.
In the caption of the post, Chloe expanded on her methodology and had a quick history lesson on the sweet potato.
I used polarized light to look at the insides of potato cells! This illumination technique is often used in geology so I now believe that sweet potatoes rock, she explained. All the small bubbles looking like sleigh bells are starch granules! You can also see multicolour confettis floating around! These are structures containing carotenoids and they really look like theyre ready for the holidays!
She added: Lots of different plants, like potato, ginger, turmeric and mango, transform the sugar they made by photosynthesis into starch. This starch is stored in specialized organs like grains, roots or tubers for later use.
Her followers enjoyed the show
Most of Chloes fellow Instagram users were taken back by the sheer vibrancy of the potato, while some outright refused to believe it was real.
One person said: All rise for the holy potato. Absolutely stunning as usual Chlo�!
Thankss, everytime someone tells me I looked like potato, I’d use this vid to show them how pretty I truly am, cheers, another person joked, while a third said, This is how they should educate us on what to eat.
