ScienceAugust 13, 2026

coverslips

KUH-ver-slips

Definition

Thin, small, and transparent squares of glass used to cover and protect specimens on a microscope slide.

Etymology

The word is a compound of 'cover' (from the Old French 'covrir') and 'slip' (a piece or strip of material). It entered English in the 19th century to describe the specific glass plates used in microscopy.

In the news

In the article, researchers used coverslips to mount minichromosomes for microscopic observation. This step was crucial for visualizing and validating the binding patterns of the GCN4 protein.

Nucleosomes and IDRs suppress promiscuous GCN4 binding on minichromosomes

Read the full article ↗

Nature

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