This ultrasharp image uses a new method to simultaneously resolve microtubules (green), mitochondria (purple), Golgi apparatus (red), and peroxisomes (yellow) from a single human cell. Each of these components works together to make the cell function.
- The structures were captured using a technique dubbed 'Exchange-PAINT'
- DNA is attached to antibodies that recognise a specific cellular structure
- DNA with fluorescent tags are introduced and bind to partner structure
- This is first time system has been able to take images less than 10nm apart
- Images like this could uncover new ways to diagnose disease, track its progress, or monitor the effectiveness of therapies at a cellular level
It might seem like a piece of abstract art, but in reality these intricate patterns are the tiny scaffolds and components that make up a human cell.
Inside each cell is a huge range of molecular machinery that can resemble a busy construction site, with different types of these tiny cellular workers coming and going.
This ultrasharp image uses a new method to simultaneously resolve microtubules (green), mitochondria (purple), Golgi apparatus (red), and peroxisomes (yellow) from a single human cell. Each of these components works together to make the cell function
Researchers in Boston were able to capture these tiny structures using strands of custom-built DNA in a microscopy technique dubbed 'Exchange-PAINT'.
The new technique could enable scientists to generate snapshots of dozens of different biomolecules at once in a single human cell.
