Left and Right Image: Courtesy of Wen Bin Tsai & W. Kinsey Center image: Courtesy of H. Matsumoto & S. K. Dey
Three-dimensional projections created from Z-stacks of a zebrafish embryo at the four-cell stage (left), a blastocyst (center), and a more fully developed zebrafish embryo (right). DAPI-stained nuclei are colored blue, while various specific proteins are labeled green (FITC/FITX) and red (rhodamine).
Like much of science, imaging has become almost entirely computerized, with digital capture devices replacing more traditional film. Capturing the data in digital form simplifies work, for instance by cutting out lengthy film processing steps, and it aids in data archiving. More important, however, digital imaging enables a new variety of experimental approaches.
When asked to pick the most important recent advance in imaging cells, John Kirn, associate professor of biology at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., points to the two-photon, laser-scanning confocal microscope, which provides three-dimensional ...
