Request for Micrographs of Cell Structures
by Harold Hillman
Summary: This is a request for the production of actual evidence for structures which are generally believed to exist in cells - Rae West.

Structures in Cells

Introduction
A clear micrograph is the best, and only certain, evidence for the existence of a structure, if it is within the resolution of the light and/or electron microscope, although one has to be aware of the possibility of artefacts.
      I ask all colleagues to send me, either micrographs of the structures listed below, or references to publications showing them. Diagrams are not acceptable. If colleagues can not find them, I invite them, either to explain their absence, or to consider the consequences to biology, if they do not exist.
      Please send the micrographs or references to me, at the Unity Laboratory of Applied Neurobiology, 76 Epsom Road, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 2BX, UK. Fax +44 1483-531110 (=UK 01483-531110).

  1. Transmembrane molecules including ion channels with extracellular, membrane, and cytoplasmic, domains.
  2. Receptors on the membranes by transmission electron microscopy for families of transmitters, hormones, antigens, drugs and toxins (in addition to the acetylcholine receptor).
  3. Clear electron micrographs of the membranes around the cell, the nucleus and the mitochondria in all orientations in one picture.
  4. The cristae of the mitochondria in all orientations.
  5. Oblique views of the myelin lamellae.
  6. Splaying of myelin lamellae in longitudinal sections of myelinated nerve fibers, away from the center of the axon.
  7. The T system in muscle in several orientations.
  8. A myelinated nerve showing a Schwann cell nucleus at each antinode.
  9. Synapses by electron microscopy in orientations other than transverse sections.
  10. The presynaptic dendrite from one neuron synapsing on the cell body of another neuron.
  11. A neuron cell body attached to an axon surrounded by myelin.
  12. The fibers of the pyramidal tract synapsing on ventral horn motor neuron cell bodies.
  13. Two fibers attached to a unipolar ganglion cell.
  14. Micrographs showing nuclear pores as ovals and ellipses towards the edge of the nuclei.
  15. The membranes around neuroglial cells in the intact nervous system.
  16. A range of thicknesses of the membranes around microbes and viruses, depending on the proximity of the section to the equator, and the dimensions of the microbes and viruses.
  17. Disks of the outer segments of rods seen in electron micrographs in orientations other than in transverse section.
  18. The T4 bacteriophage in all orientations.

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