Schlieren patterns appear at the edges of the ragged focal conic texture exhibited by this high density liquid crystalline DNA sample. This often occurs in populations of rod-like DNA molecules that have a very heterogeneous distribution of molecular weights (and lengths). The DNA concentration for this specimen is approximately 400 milligrams per millimeter, and the magnification is approximately 450x. The digital image presented above was originally recorded on Fujichrome 64T transparency film using a Nikon Optiphot-Pol microscope with crossed polarized illumination. Exposures were recorded about 2.5 f-steps under the recommended value given by an in-camera photomultiplier and were push-processed approximately 1.5 f-steps in the first E-6 developer.