Confocal Microscopes Widen Cell Biology Career Horizons

Innovative instruments, often jerry-built from parts of other devices, are making a wide array of new projects possible One look through something called a confocal microscope was all it took for William Sunderland to make a drastic change in his career plans. A math student with what appeared to be a bright future in computers, he peeked one day through the lens of a microscope invented in the lab where he worked. The dazzlingly detailed pictures of living cells convinced him to switch his ma

Written byDiana Morgan
| 7 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
7:00
Share


Innovative instruments, often jerry-built from parts of other devices, are making a wide array of new projects possible
One look through something called a confocal microscope was all it took for William Sunderland to make a drastic change in his career plans. A math student with what appeared to be a bright future in computers, he peeked one day through the lens of a microscope invented in the lab where he worked. The dazzlingly detailed pictures of living cells convinced him to switch his major from mathematics and computer sciences to biology.

Confocal microscopes have been transforming the working lives of scientists like Sunderland ever since the devices began to appear in biology labs in the mid-1980s. And it's not just their pictures that are causing scientists to want their own. It's also the challenge of improving on the clunky first generation of confocal microscopes.

From the start, confocal microscopes ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to digital editions of The Scientist, as well as TS Digest, feature stories, more than 35 years of archives, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here

Related Topics

Meet the Author

Published In

Share
Illustration of a developing fetus surrounded by a clear fluid with a subtle yellow tinge, representing amniotic fluid.
January 2026, Issue 1

What Is the Amniotic Fluid Composed of?

The liquid world of fetal development provides a rich source of nutrition and protection tailored to meet the needs of the growing fetus.

View this Issue
Redefining Immunology Through Advanced Technologies

Redefining Immunology Through Advanced Technologies

Skip the Wait for Protein Stability Data with Aunty

Skip the Wait for Protein Stability Data with Aunty

Unchained Labs
Graphic of three DNA helices in various colors

An Automated DNA-to-Data Framework for Production-Scale Sequencing

illumina
Exploring Cellular Organization with Spatial Proteomics

Exploring Cellular Organization with Spatial Proteomics

Products

nuclera logo

Nuclera eProtein Discovery System installed at leading Universities in Taiwan

Brandtech Logo

BRANDTECH Scientific Introduces the Transferpette® pro Micropipette: A New Twist on Comfort and Control

Biotium Logo

Biotium Launches GlycoLiner™ Cell Surface Glycoprotein Labeling Kits for Rapid and Selective Cell Surface Imaging

Colorful abstract spiral dot pattern on a black background

Thermo Scientific X and S Series General Purpose Centrifuges

Thermo Fisher Logo