Importance of the photo documentation in molecular biology

The photograph has played a decisive role in the history of science. Since its inception, it has become a powerful research tool, education and disclosure of science in all its branches. Through the record of images of different technological instruments it has been possible to represent and analyze many results product of years of research.

Photography can be defined as the technique of obtaining durable images due to the action of light. And scientific photography can be defined in turn as a group of photographic specialties aimed at the diffusion, disclosure and understanding of science.

What is molecular biology?

Molecular biology is a branch of biology that aims to study the processes that are developed in living beings from a molecular point of view. In other words, it is the study of the structure, function and composition of molecules that are of importance at a biological level. This science involves the understanding of the interactions of the different systems of the cell, including those of DNA with RNA, protein synthesis, metabolism, and how all those interactions are regulated so that cells work properly.

When studying the biological behavior of molecules that make up living cells, molecular biology is closely related to other sciences such as genetics who addresses the structure and functioning of genes and regulation (induction and repression) of intracellular synthesis of enzymes and Of other proteins. With cytology, who is responsible for the study of the structure of subcellular corpuscles (nucleus, nucleolo, mitochondria, ribosomes, lysosomes, etc.) and their functions in the cell interior. With the biochemistry that studies the composition and kinetics of enzymes, focusing on the types of enzymatic catalysis, activations, competitive or alostéric inhibitions. It also collaborates with phylogenetics when studying the detailed composition of certain molecules in the different species of living beings, providing valuable data for the knowledge of evolution.

Photography and molecular biology

The human eye can see the violet, blue, green, yellow, orange and red color, that is, it captures wavelengths between 400 and 700 nanometers, but can not perceive infrared or ultraviolet light. In a photograph it is possible to capture images at wavelengths between 10 and 1,200 nanometers, using special cameras in combination with foci and filters to obtain the desired wavelength, then we can talk about infrared light photography (700 – 1,200 nanometers) and Ultraviolet (10 – 400 nanometers). This is very useful in molecular biology area, since many experiments can be visualized at these wavelengths, especially when analyzing electrophoresis gels.

In photography for scientific purposes, specifically in the field of molecular biology, it is important to consider two factors that directly influence the final result: the preparation of the material and the use of the appropriate equipment to take photography. So that the desired images can be obtained, since for the validation and acceptance of results in this area, it is possible to have photographs that allow to show and analyze the results.

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