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Microscopic Masterpiece

April 24, 2026

This may be bad to admit, but I love a good TikTok scroll. It’s probably not the best use of my time, but I’ve come across some interesting things! New music artists to listen to, events around my city, and even some science accounts. A bit ago, I found a medical student who makes histological artwork and I was absolutely fascinated. Her name is Kait and her paintings are absolutely beautiful (@createbykait on TikTok if you are curious)!

Of course then I had to do a deep dive about histology. What actually is it? What is she really painting? I assumed it was cells from the look of it, but that was the extent of my knowledge. Turns out there is a lot more to histology than just a pretty picture.

Histology is the study of microscopic structures of tissues. It usually includes sectioning a thin slice of tissue, staining it with dyes that adhere to different types of structures, then observing the slice under a microscope (NCBI Bookshelf, 2023). Histology is also the foundation for pathology, which is the study of the effects of disease on the body. I had heard pathology as a medical specialty, but again, did not know what they did.

Turns out, pathologists look at tissue samples from biopsies or autopsies to make diagnoses. I got to watch a brain biopsy earlier this year while shadowing a neurosurgical oncologist. These patients had gotten MRIs that showed a spot of something irregular, called a lesion. During the biopsy, the surgeons took a small sample of the lesion tissue to send to a pathologist to determine what it was, whether it was cancer, an aneurysm, diseased tissue, or even a parasite. The first sample they took is called the frozen section, which they would send to pathology immediately. The pathologists would quickly freeze the sample and examine it to make sure it was usable. The surgeons would have to stay scrubbed in and wait in the operating room until they got confirmation from the pathologist that the sample was good. If it wasn’t, the surgeons would go in and get another sample before closing the wound.

Pathologists also examine autopsies, or tissue from dead organisms. This is often used when there is an investigation with an unclear cause of death. This led me to Marianne Hamel, a forensic pathologist, who recognized how paradoxically beautiful these histological images can be. So much so that she created a collection of histological images that is now on display at Rudger’s University (Hamel & Johnson, n.d.). She said in an interview that she hopes to educate people about her career field, but also allow people to appreciate the beauty of the human body (Chandler, 2023).

Histology has evolved a lot since its beginnings. Hamel said photos used to be shot in black and white, making interpreting the images much more difficult. Now there is a plethora of different dyes used to make multicolored images. This offers so much more information for pathologists to gather, but also a higher level of difficulty. Learning to read [histological] slides, Hammel says, is like learning another language (Chandler, 2023).

It’s funny how what seems like just a pretty picture is actually such an intricate science and can show how beautiful life can be.

“Mixed histology polyp.” Image by Caoimhin74, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
“Histology of normal antral mucosa” Image by Carrasco G, Corvalan AH, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
“Mixed histology polyp” Image by Caoimhin74, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

References

National Center for Biotechnology Information. (2023). NCBI Bookshelf. U.S. National Library of Medicine. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557663/

Hamel, M., & Johnson, N. (n.d.). Death under glass. https://www.deathunderglass.com/

Chandler, R. (2023, October 31). Post-mortem histology artwork brings death to life. Evident Scientific. https://evidentscientific.com/en/insights/post-mortem-histology-artwork

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About Author

I am a biochemistry major at Georgia Tech and love nerding out about science! My favorite thing is when I can apply what I've learned in class to other topics. Right now, I've been loving using my organic chemistry knowledge to understand enzyme reactions and I can't wait to share that with you all!

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  Timothy Durham was convicted of rape when a test showed his DNA genotype matched the DNA recovered from the crime scene. Eye witnesses testified that Durham was in a different state at the time of the incident, but he wasn’t exonerated from his 3000 year sentence until follow up DNA analysis showed that the preliminary forensic analysis used in the trial was misinterpreted (Thomas et al.). DNA testing serves an invaluable part in our criminal justice system, but it comes with complications and bias that can lead to wrongful convictions and misinformed juries.  

Background:

Forensic genetics aims to identify the origin of a biological sample. It can be traced back to Karl Landsteiner who discovered human ABO blood groups. With blood groups, suspects could be eliminated based on their blood type. For example, if a suspect had type A blood and there was type B blood left at the scene by the perpetrator, the investigators could rule out the suspect. Unfortunately, the reverse didn’t work. If the suspect and perpetrator both had the same blood type, it can’t be concluded that the suspect was guilty. Blood identifiers evolved into 8 distinct categories which improved the ability to eliminate suspects, but could only conclude that (if the system matched) it might be the perpetrator or this person might be related to the perpetrator (Jobling and Gill). The field evolved in the 1980s with the discovery of Minisatellites, lines of repetitive DNA that don’t encode proteins. Minisatellite patterns in DNA create what we know today as the DNA fingerprint, and it has a much higher accuracy rate than previous methods (Augustyn et al.). Around the same time, a breakthrough for victims of sexual assault was discovered. In the case of assault, bodily fluids of both the victim and the assaulter can get mixed. A process called differential lysis was created which could selectively increase the concentration of sperm in a fluid sample thereby allowing for accurate DNA testing (Jobling and Gill). Forensics evolved to use single-locus probe testing after several years because of its ease of interpretation. It looked at specific minisatellites that had high variability between subjects. This was the first DNA-based method to be used in a criminal investigation. Two murder homicides from several years apart were connected using DNA evidence. The evidence was then used to exonerate an innocent man, and the guilty party was found when he tried to evade mandatory DNA testing for all men in the small town. His guilt was then reinforced when the DNA profiles matched, and he gave a confession (Jobling and Gill). Finding DNA at a crime scene doesn’t guarantee that you’ll find a murderer. There are issues with non-pure samples and limited samples that make DNA work difficult, and accreditation of facilities and new techniques and take time (Jobling and Gill).  

Subjectivity of DNA Interpretation:

In a 2009 publication, the National Academy of Science discusses the possibility for subjective influence in lab based forensics. The interpretation bias happens in complex cases where, for example, there could be a mixture of DNA. A study published in 2011 looked specifically at this issue. A gang rape happened in Georgia, and the mixture in DNA from the case was used to prosecute one suspect after another suspect took a plea bargain to testify against him. With DNA mixtures, there are three possible conclusions: suspect excluded, suspect cannot be excluded, and inconclusive. If the suspect is excluded, it means that there’s little to no possibility that his DNA is part of the sample. If the suspect cannot be excluded, it means that there’s a possibility that his DNA is part of the sample. In the trial, the DNA examiners who knew the context of the case concluded that the suspect being prosecuted could not be excluded. The 2011 study gave the DNA evidence from this case and the DNA profiles of the suspects to 17 forensic examiners. These examiners had no context of the case, and they all worked independently. Of the 17, only 1 came to the same conclusion (suspect cannot be excluded) as the examiners who knew the context of the case. Twelve of the 17 concluded that the suspect who was prosecuted and convicted had no relation to the DNA found in the sample. Not only does this show that subjectivity occurs due to the context of the case, but the 17 examiners came up with different findings based on their past experiences meaning that not all DNA analysis is objective. Some organizations like the Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods say that quantitative statistical evidence should be presented with every categorical conclusion, but the US doesn’t require this (Dror and Hampikian).

False Positives:

There are two categories that cause wrongful identification in a DNA report: coincidental matches and false positives. Coincidental matches are DNA matches between two unrelated people. The probability of these matches is about 1 to 500,000 for white individuals and about 1 to 350,000 for black individuals. This small probability of coincidental matches makes people feel confident in DNA evidence. False positives, on the other hand, are matches between DNA and test DNA that result from issues in the forensics lab. There have been multiple cases of forensics labs accidentally switching victim and suspected rapist DNA which lead to convictions that were later overturned when the lab realized the error. There are also cases of misreading or misunderstanding a sample. In a case from 1993, a man was convicted of rape because someone interpreted a mixed sample of victim and perpetrator DNA as an individual sample. The conviction was again overturned. To prevent false convictions, retesting DNA is allowed, but it’s not an efficient solution. Many people are pushing for statistical information on the probability of false positives, so that the jurors can make accurate judgements based on DNA evidence (Thomas et al.).  

Conclusion:

DNA analysis is a useful tool for the criminal justice system, but subjectivity can be an issue in forensic testing. To combat wrongful convictions, there are organizations like The Innocence Project who use DNA testing to free the innocent, but reformed forensic testing standards should be put in place to prevent subjectivity and to ensure juries are correctly informed during trials. https://www.innocenceproject.org/    

Citation:

Augustyn , Adam, et al. “DNA Finerprinting.” Encyclopedia Britannica , 26 Apr. 2018, www.britannica.com/science/DNA-fingerprinting#ref153186. Dror, Itiel E., and Greg Hampikian. “Subjectivity and Bias in Forensic DNA Mixture Interpretation.” Science & Justice, vol. 51, no. 4, 2011, pp. 204–208., doi:10.1016/j.scijus.2011.08.004. Jobling, Mark A., and Peter Gill. “Encoded Evidence: DNA in Forensic Analysis.” Nature Reviews: Genetics, vol. 5, no. 10, Oct. 2004, pp. 739–751., doi:10.1038/nrg1455. Thompson, William C, et al. “How the Probability of a False Positive Affects the Value of DNA Evidence.” Journal of Forensic Sciences, vol. 48, no. 1, Jan. 2003, pp. 1–8., doi:10.1520/jfs2001171.