The invention that first enabled researchers to see clear images of living cells was the phase-contrast microscope, which won its inventor, Frits Zernike, a Nobel Prize in 1932. Prior to Zernike's ...

Scientists have found a way to map the intricate patterns of cells in mouse brain tissue with an off-the-shelf light microscope, using a trick that inflates a tiny sample to 16 times its original size ...

With a new microscope that's as light as a penny, researchers can now observe broad swaths of the brain in action as mice move about and interact with their environments. As a mouse explores its ...

Our brain is a complex organ. Billions of nerve cells are wired in an intricate network, constantly processing signals, enabling us to recall memories or to move our bodies. Making sense of this ...

What is the Diffraction Limit? The diffraction limit is a fundamental barrier in optical microscopy that sets the minimum size of features that can be resolved using conventional light microscopes. It ...

How do photosynthetic organisms harvest light so efficiently? To help answer this question, researchers have developed an ultrafast transient absorption microscope with sensitivity approaching the ...

QIScope: When imaging low protein levels in live cells on the high-sensitivity QIScope, bioluminescence (blue) significantly outperforms fluorescence (green). (Courtesy: Ruyu Ma - Helmholtz Munich) A ...