By Elton Gomes
Humans have been able to view cells under a microscope for a long time; however, obtaining their footage was an uphill task. Seeing how cells behave in their natural form was something scientists have been aiming to achieve for a long time.
Eric Betzig, a group leader at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Janelia Research Campus in Virginia, and his team have obtained unbelievably clear footage of cells moving in their natural form.
The team mainly tested their new microscope on zebrafish by tracking cells inside the inner ear of the zebrafish. It also tested nematodes, leaves, and organoids that were derived from human stem cells.
The team achieved this by combining two imaging technologies and was able to capture clear, 3D footage of individual cells inside living tissues.
Here’s what happened
Betzig says that watching cells in their “native state” was ambiguous as large groups of cells scrambled along everywhere that made them look like a bag of shiny marbles.
Moreover, when they attempted to acquire footage of moving cells, the outcome was fuzzy. The clearest images were obtained when groups of cells were preserved on a glass slide. However, this meant that the cells could not be viewed in their natural habitat, which is inside a living organism.
“This raises the nagging doubt that we are not seeing cells in their native state, happily ensconced in the organism in which they evolved,” Betzig told Eureka Alert.
Furthermore, the microscopes most commonly used to study cellular inner workings are generally slow. The microscopes also tend to bathe cells with light that is thousands to millions of times more intense than the desert sun. ”This also contributes to our fear that we are not seeing cells in their natural, unstressed form,” Betzig added.
Adaptive optics and lattice light sheet microscopy
To overcome these challenges, Betzig and his team used two advanced microscopy technologies that they initially reported in 2014.
To rid the cells of the excessive light, the team employed adaptive optics. This is the same technology used by astronomers to provide clear views of celestial objects far away from the Earth.
Thereafter, to image the internal behaviour of cells in 3D, the team used lattice light sheet microscopy. The ensuing results are bright, clear, and vibrant images of cells in action within a live organism. The technology also allows us to view the internal structure of the cells.
With clear, 3D footage of movement of cells, scientists can revolutionise biology in ways never thought of before. However, the world will have to be patient with this technology. Presently, the microscopy set up is expensive and is not user-friendly. The microscope used by Betzig and his team occupies a 10-foot long table.
Why you should care
The good news is that the team is working on a smaller and cheaper version of the microscope and plans to share the plans of the microscope for free. This will allow the microscope to be used in other fields as well.
The capturing of footage of cells moving inside a living organism will aid research in cell biology and other related areas. The movement of cells will help scientists gather more data on how cells function, move and multiply – this can help in improving diagnosis of cell-based diseases.