September 18, 2012

Precision Motion Tracking - Thousands of Cells at a Time




Novel microscopy technique could open new windows into protozoan behavior, microbial diseases and fertility

Researchers have developed a new way to observe and track large numbers of rapidly moving objects under a microscope, capturing precise motion paths in three dimensions.

Over the course of the study--reported online Sept. 17, 2012, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences--researchers followed an unprecedented 24,000 rapidly moving cells over wide fields of view and through large sample volumes, recording each cell's path for as long as 20 seconds.