Video: New Microscope Produces 3-D Movies of Live Cells In Action
Ruffling Cells Three-dimensional structure of a fixed monkey kidney cell expressing the cancer signaling protein c-Src, showing membrane ruffles and numerous intracellular vacuoles. E. Betzig, T. Planchon, and L. Gao/Janelia Farm, Howard Hughes Medical InstituteCell biologists get observational omniscience It's been a big week for the world of the small. In a new microscope breakthrough, researchers have figured out how to use a minuscule sheet of light to produce movies of living cells, revealing mitosis in action and illuminating cells' three-dimensional architecture with the greatest detail ever seen. The technique uses a highly focused, super-thin beam of light similar to the type used in supermarket checkout scanners. It could allow cell biologists to watch the molecular underpinnings of cell action as they unfold. "In looking at living systems, you want to be God. You want to have this omniscient power and be able to look at all time scales - not just...