EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -Pollen grains are produced by seed plants (angiosperms and gymnosperms), and spores by ferns, lycopods, horsetails, mosses and fungi. They are produced in generally very large numbers during the reproduction process, and are dispersed by wind, water and animals.

Detailed explanation-2: -There are three methods for obtaining useful pollen grains images, including transmitted-light microscopy (TLM), the widefield fluorescent method and the structured illumination (Apotome) method. These three methods can be considered as semi-automated traditional methods used to detect the pollen grains.

Detailed explanation-3: -Pollen and spores provide clues as to the source of the items and the characteristics of the environments from which the material on them is sourced. Their usefulness lies in a combination of their abundance, dispersal mechanisms, resistance to mechanical and chemical destruction, microscopic size, and morphology.

Detailed explanation-4: -Trace evidence can include a wide variety of materials, but the most commonly tested are hair, fibers, paint and glass.