Fluorescence microscopy: there is no limit to perfection
The Nobel laureate made a new scientific breakthrough a couple of weeks after receiving the prize
On October 8, 2014, Betzig, together with William E. Moerner and Stefan W. Hell, received an award for the development of a fluorescent microscope.
At the time when Betzig learned about the award of the Nobel Prize, his main work had not yet been published. The scientist says that after the invention of a new generation microscope, he began to understand the limitations of technology again. The microscope was good for taking pictures of slow-moving particles, but it was still impossible to get high-quality images of rapidly occurring processes: light falling on the sample under study penetrates through it and is reflected. At the same time, the microscope focuses only on a small part of the sample, around which the light creates a kind of haze. Moreover, this light harms the sample.
The scientist compares the images obtained with the help of a fluorescent microscope with photographs of a football match: with their help, you can see the details of the game, but it is impossible to understand its rules. The scientist says: "All my life I've been looking at these pictures. It's time to take a look at the whole process."
Betzig's new invention is that the developed microscope illuminates the studied sample from the side, the light itself consists of many separate rays (instead of a single stream) that do not spoil the cells. Now scientists can take quick pictures of the entire section illuminated by the microscope. The work is already bearing fruit: specialists can observe the processes of muscular contractions of the nematode embryo, metastasis of cancer cells, the interaction of T-lymphocytes (cells of the immune system) with infection-causing organisms.
Three-dimensional model of cancer cell metastasis (green) in the original tumor
Betzig wants his invention to appear in as many research laboratories as possible. The scientist does not plan to stop there: he wants to create a device that would allow him to look inside biological systems, because a fluorescent microscope, like any light microscope, can only give images of the surface of an object.
Muscle contractions of the nematode embryo
Thomas Kirchhausen, a specialist in cell biology at Harvard University, was the first to receive an experimental, not yet finished version of the microscope. He commented to the Washington Post on Eric Betzig's invention as follows: "Only now will we be able to study such a seemingly simple question about whether the volume and surface area of a cell changes during division. It's just fantastic. I am happy that I was able to get a copy of the microscope for my laboratory. However, I would be much happier if I had the opportunity to get a copy of Betzig himself."
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