Tracking Molecules at Turbo Speed

Researchers devise method to speed up observations of high-throughput microbiological process

17-Jan-2024 - Being able to observe micro-organisms and their cellular components is key to understanding fundamental processes that go on inside cells—and thus potentially developing new medical treatments. Microbiologists and biophysicists from the University of Bonn have now developed a method that makes ...

Point-of-care diagnostics: New methods for detecting single molecules

Pathogen-specific detection: Even one single DNA molecule is enough

04-Nov-2021 - Resistance to antibiotics is on the rise worldwide. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques IPM alongside the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich have developed a process for rapidly detecting multidrug-resistant pathogens. The unique feature: Even one ...

Shaping light lets 2D microscopes capture 4D data

Invention adds new dimension to fluorescent microscopy

20-Feb-2019 - Rice University researchers have added a new dimension to their breakthrough technique that expands the capabilities of standard laboratory microscopes. Two years ago, the Rice lab of chemist Christy Landes introduced super temporal resolution microscopy, a technique that allowed researchers to ...

Fluorescence microscopy on a chip -- no lenses required

21-Sep-2017 - Fluorescence microscopy gives researchers incredible power to illuminate the tiniest structures and capture the real-time activities of live cells by tagging biological molecules with a veritable rainbow of fluorescent dyes. This power comes at a cost: The technology can be expensive and ...

Powerful plastic microscope brings better diagnostic care for world's rural poor

21-Oct-2015 - You can learn a lot about the state of someone's immune system just by examining their blood under the microscope. An abnormally high or low white blood count, for instance, might indicate a bone marrow pathology or AIDS. The rupturing of white blood cells might be the sign of an underlying ...

Fewer animal experiments thanks to nanosensors

12-Jan-2012 - Countless mice, rats and rabbits die every year in the name of science – and the situation is getting worse. While German laboratories used some 2.41 million animals for scientific research in 2005, by 2009 this number had grown to 2.79 million. One third were destined for fundamental biology ...

Blinking neurons give thoughts away

07-May-2010 - Electrical currents are invisible to the naked eye – at least they are when they flow through metal cables. In nerve cells, however, scientists are able to make electrical signals visible. Working with fellow experts from Switzerland and Japan, scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Medical ...

UCLA researchers create 'fly paper' to capture circulating cancer cells

New method may help improve diagnosis, prognosis and treatment monitoring

23-Nov-2009 - Just as fly paper captures insects, an innovative new device with nano-sized features developed by researchers at UCLA is able to grab cancer cells in the blood that have broken off from a tumor. These cells, known as circulating tumor cells, or CTCs, can provide critical information for ...

Think zinc: Molecular sensor could reveal zinc's role in diseases

01-Sep-2009 - Scientists have developed a new molecular sensor that can reveal the amount of zinc in cells, which could tell us more about a number of diseases, including type 2 diabetes. The research, published in Nature Methods, opens the door to the hidden world of zinc biology by giving scientists an ...