By combining two microscopy methods, researchers are able to see what is happening inside a cell and on its membrane simultaneously, giving unprecedented insight into the cellular processes that occur during infection, for example. Cells are the fundamental component of living organisms and play host to a number of complex biological phenomena. Researchers need to be able to study these phenomena in detail in order to comprehend certain kinds of disorders and diseases and then develop effective treatments. But effectively observing living cells on a microor nano-scale remains a challenge. By combining two different microscopy methods, researchers from two different labs have jointly developed a system that can be used to watch living cells in action with unparalleled precision. Their findings appear in two articles: one published in July and the other being published today in ACS Nano . "The methods currently available present many technical challenges to observe live cells at such a granular level," says Georg Fantner, the head of EPFL's Laboratory for Bioand Nano- Instrumentation (LBNI).
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