Docu (8:09) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9euW5iCjKDo
With new advances in microscopy, biologists are able to see the secret life of cells unfolding like never before.
You probably remember being taught about the cell in your high school biology class—learning the cell structure, labeling the membrane, the nucleus, and the cytoplasm. But it turns out, what we’ve learned from our biology textbooks is likely an oversimplification, and biologists at research organizations like the Allen Institute for Cell Science are working to take a more integrated and holistic view to better understand the cell and all its complexities. We are in a new era of cell biology. For centuries, microscopes have illuminated previously invisible worlds, and the recent advancements in microscopy are no different. Breakthrough laser microscopes are not only allowing biologists to image a cell in three dimensions, but also providing the opportunity to reveal hidden patterns inside of living cells. Find out more about this new microscopy technology capturing cells like never before and what this could mean for the next decade of cell biology on this episode of Focal Point.
Additional Credit: Betzig Lab, HHMI/Janelia Research Campus; 10/24/14 issue of the journal Science.