Psychedelic microscope slides reveal the inner workings of plant and body cells

The images showcase the building blocks of the organisms around us

(Ivy Press)

A wave of hair-like magenta washing over a mottled lilac surface, and a burnt ochre landscape dotted with craters.

Such images may sound like they’re psychedelic artworks from the 1970s, but they are in fact the cells which make up our bodies and the living organisms around us.

The microscopy slides are part of a recently released book called The Cell: A Visual Tour of the Building Block of Life. Each photograph gives an insight into what happens inside a living cell.

The book released by Ivy Press explores how our existence and that of everything around us relies on these miniscule structures, and emphasises how even single-cell bacterium can have a global impact.

It includes explanations by science writer Jack Challoner, who has collaborated with the Science Museum in London, who examines the passage of the cell through time.