Pursuits
Most Sensitive Microscope Sees Cells Change in Real Time
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A microscope designed by this year’s Nobel Prizer winner harnesses ultrathin sheets of light to peer into living cells, tracking everything from a single protein’s moves to embryo formation.
The development, outlined today in the journal Science, goes beyond the super resolution tools that led to Eric Betzig being awarded the 2014 Nobel for chemistry. While his earlier work allowed scientists to study cell structure with greater clarity, the new device allows three-dimensional imaging of cells as they change over time.