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CORVALLIS - Bartels and Stout, Inc., has donated two microscopes valued at $50,000 to Oregon State University to aid faculty members in their research.

The instruments include an inverted, fluorescent, phase contrast light microscope and an upright fluorescence, phase contrast microscope that are particularly aimed at helping new faculty or pilot research programs in new areas of biology, officials say.

The laboratory containing the new instruments will find research applications on such topics as plant RNA viruses, research on ways to block viral infections, and ancient DNA residues that may provide clues about the activities of the earliest human inhabitants of North America.

"Bartels and Stout has a long history of working with OSU," said Jo-Ann Leong, professor and head of the OSU Department of Microbiology. "They were especially interested in donating these microscopes for research that is in an area not well supported through traditional funding agencies."