US (2023)- LIFE MAGNIFIED - Sheet of 20 Forever Stamps

With 20 otherworldly images, this issuance explores life on Earth, as few have ever
seen it. The pane features images taken using microscopes and highly specialized
photographic techniques to capture details of life undetectable by the human eye.
The stamps include vivid images of red blood cells, the feather of a macaw parrot, a
knotted strand of human hair, moss leaves, diatom shells (photosynthesizing algae),
freshwater protozoans, an acorn barnacle, a moth’s antenna, the front foot of a diving
beetle, neurons from a mouse’s brain, bone tissue from a starling, scales on the wing
of a Madagascan sunset moth, a juvenile zebrafish, mushroom gills, the tongue of a
freshwater snail, a blue button (an organism similar to a jellyfish), mold spores, the
legs (known as cirri) of a barnacle, flame lily pollen, and the surface of a southern live
oak leaf.

For hundreds of years, scientists have held deep fascination with making the invisible
elements of our world visible. The images that result from microscope-based
research show, in exquisitely fine detail, the phenomena of life. While stunning on
their own as works of art, these images also hold scientific significance.
Microscopists, both professional and amateur, use a variety of techniques to capture
the beauty of their subjects. A scanning electron microscope (SEM), which directs
beams of electrons at a sample and then records the electrons emitted by that
sample, can provide an extended depth of field giving the impression of a threedimensional subject. SEMs produce black-and-white images that are often colorized  by scientists.

Confocal microscopy is a process that scans a specimen to create several optical
sections of the subject. Scientists then stack these images to provide an extended
depth of field giving the impression of a three-dimensional reconstruction of the
subject.

Many more techniques and equipment exist for capturing specimens in ever greater
detail.