If he casts the right fly, an angler can catch some really big
fish. Scientists are the same way, needing the right type of
microscope to visualize nature's smallest molecules and atoms.
Now, researchers are redesigning their light microscopes to
catch a glimpse of some of the most miniscule molecules, those
that make proteins in bacteria and archaea. A promising solution
is the use of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and
stochastical optical reconstruction microscopy (STORM).
Together, these techniques are improving our understanding of
how bacteria and archaea transcribe DNA to RNA and then
translate RNA to proteins. In addition, they are re-shaping how
cell biology studies relate to environmental microbes. Luring
and Lighting Biomolecules "Light microscopy has been a workhorse
in cell biological research," says Harvard biophysicist Xiaowei
Zhuang. She says scientists want to use light microscopy to
study cells, especially live ones, because it is non-invasive.
The problem, however, with zooming in