Microglia
Research has discovered dystrophic (defective development) human microglia. "These cells are characterized by abnormalities in their cytoplasmic structure, such as deramified, atrophic, fragmented or unusually tortuous processes, frequently bearing spheroidal or bulbous swellings." The incidence of dystrophic microglia increases with aging. Microglial degeneration and death have been reported in research on Prion disease, Schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease, indicating that microglial deterioration might be involved in neurodegenerative diseases. A complication of this theory is the fact that it is difficult to distinguish between "activated" and "dystrophic" microglia in the human brain.
Mini Lisa
The Mini Lisa is a nanoscale replica of the "Mona Lisa". It was created in 2013 by Keith Carroll, a Georgia Institute of Technology PhD candidate, in order to demonstrate a technique called thermochemical nanolithography (TCNL) that was invented at the university. In TCNL, a tiny cantilever viewed through an atomic force microscope uses heat to activate a series of chemical reactions that create new molecules. Greater amounts of heat create more molecules which lighten the surface of the substrate, allowing a grayscale image to be created.