'A little off the top' helps map cells with submicrometer resolution

To determine if a tissue biopsy reveals the presence of cancer, a histologist often screens for cells with an abnormal appearance or a specific visible trait such as a larger-than-usual nucleus. However, by the time a cancer is physically noticeable, the disease may be in its later stages and more difficult to treat. In an effort to identify the earlier-onset, more subtle chemical changes occurring in a cell heading toward malignancy, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) have developed a technique that slices off the top of a cell and makes the structures accessible to spectroscopic examination of their chemical "signature."

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