Electron microscopes (EMs) generate the most detailed images of organic structures available, but the view they offer has always been in black and white. Now, for the first time, researchers have developed a method for capturing EM images in color. The technique, described today (November 3) in Cell Chemical Biology, involves staining cellular components with metal ions that emit unique signals under the scope, which can then be rendered as vivid colors. Previously, EMs could not distinguish between different types of molecules, so colors had to be painted on afterward. Removing this barrier may open a window onto fine-scale cellular organization that has never before been visible.
In their paper, researchers from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), not only show that the method works, they also demonstrated three different applications that would not be feasible using standard EM sample preparation. They generate an image of two astrocytes sharing ...
