Damon Tighe was born in Klamath Falls, Oregon and matured in the frog jumping hills of Calaveras County, California.   Damon started shooting pictures when he realized he couldn't draw and needed an art class to apply to UC schools. Ironically he ended up at Saint Mary's College of CA getting a BS in Biology/Chemistry where he began moonlighting as a photographer. He taught high school in Portland, Oregon and now lives in Oakland, California working as a genomics researcher and free lance photographer/adventurer.

About the photo:  "Glomus intraradices spore at 500x magnification with Syto11 stain for nuclei's DNA"

Glomus is a fungi that associates with plant roots and can facilitate increased nutrient uptake, drought resistance, pest resistance, and other functions for plants. The genome of this fungus is being sequenced at the DOE Joint Genome Institute to understand how this partnership works and how it could be used for better agricultural yields.