A recent review paper has revealed the reasons behind a piece of cognitive dissonance that many of us perform daily, called the meat paradox. At the heart of the paradox is this conflict: most of us like animals, but will happily eat animals housed in cruel conditions.

A range of microscope objectives are available and the optimal choice for a given sample and application will depend on several technical factors. Prices can vary from a few hundred dollars to several thousand and in many cases is a real consideration as well. By an understanding of the factors that influence image quality (contrast, signal-to-noise, resolution, etc.), as well as the terms that describe objective classes and types, well-informed decisions can be made and data appropriate for the purpose of the experiment more easily generated.