THE TINIEST WINDOW YIELDS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL OPENING NOW

When a window opens up a view that could never be seen before, it offers an extraordinary kind of beauty. Three scientists just won the 2014 Nobel Prize in chemistry for their groundbreaking work in fluorescence microscopy, offering a new window into cells.

Eric Betzig, physicist at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Janelia Research Campus, Stefan Hell, physicist at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, and W.E. Moerner, physical chemist at Stanford University, developed groundbreaking techniques for microscopic photography to a whole new level.

Fluorescence microscopy exponentially increases the magnification, depth, and clarity of the busy world inside a cell. Imagine being able to watch neurons shift shapes as a brain learns something.

And what might we learn now that it is possible to see the intracellular structures of diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s and Parkinson’s.

Up until now, there seemed to be a limit to how much a microscope could magnify, based on a principle known as the “diffraction barrier.”

These scientists broke the barrier. They’ve been trying since 2000, when they shot a combination of colored lasers at fluorescent molecules. The lasers played off of each other to create unprecedented focus.

Unlike other super-magnification processes, the new technique allowed researchers to observe living intact cells.

As they developed their techniques further, the researchers engineered light switches for molecules to further increase focus. They found that by shooting different wavelengths of light through fluorescent molecules they could cause individual molecules to light up or go dark.

Next, the team used similar light-switched molecules to view a membrane protein from a mammalian cell. They continue to open new windows into new cells and new ideas about life is created.

This remarkable technology platform might one day open up a view into how molecules connect to switch on life.

Read more about Beautiful Openings, as it relates to Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink,Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact including 10 Beautiful Books Celebrate Doors, Windows, & Soulful Openings.

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PHOTO CREDITS:

1. Image: Courtesy of ZEISS Microscopy. Human Blood with Red Blood Cells Taken with Fluorescence Microscopy.
2. Image: Courtesy of The National Institute of Health. HeLa Cells Captured with Fluorescence Microscopy.
3. Photo: by Joseph Elsbernd. BPAE Cells taken with Fluorescence Microscopy.
4. Image: by Imaizumi et al. Stem Cells Separated into Distinct Germ Layers Taken with Fluorescence Microscopy.
5. Image: by Maribeth Kniffen. Mouse Small Intestine Taken with Fluorescence Microscopy.
6. Image: Courtesy of SIU Med. Cerebellar Cortex Taken with Fluorescence Microscopy.
7. Image: Courtesy of the Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology. Fluorescence Microscopy Image.
8. Image: by Lothar Schermelleh. M Luteus Cells.
9. Image: by Sun Ae Kim. PC12 Neurite Outgrowth Taken with Fluorescence Microscopy.
10. Image: Courtesy of Valerie LeBleu, Ph.D., and Judith Kaye. Fibrous Tissue Taken With Fluorescence Microscopy.