by
Barbara Kram, Editor | August 14, 2006
"It's important to activate only a few fluorescent proteins at a time, or else you'd only see one bright blur of light, without being able to distinguish the individual position of the protein," Dr. Lippincott-Schwartz said.
Repeating this process many thousands of times, a computer image is eventually created in which the positions of all the molecules are determined, often with near-molecular precision. Currently, the main tool researchers use to produce high resolution images of the structures within a cell is an electron microscope. Although electron microscopes produce a detailed image of very small structures, they cannot provide an image of the proteins that make up those structures.
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With the new technique, the researchers were able to study several cellular subsystems, including the mitochondria, the structures within a cell that provide energy for the cell's activities. The researchers were able to visualize the distribution of the proteins involved in the assembly and budding of the AIDS virus from a host cell.
Images generated by both conventional microscopy and the new PALM microscopy appear at http://www.nichd.nih.gov/new/releases/caption_palmvsconventional.cfm.
The NICHD sponsors research on development, before and after birth; maternal, child, and family health; reproductive biology and population issues; and medical rehabilitation. For more information, visit the Institute's Web site at http://www.nichd.nih.gov/.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) -- The Nation's Medical Research Agency -- includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.
Photo details:
The images depict a membrane protein in a cellular organelle known as a lysosome. The image on the right shows a convention fluorescent image of a portion of the lyososome, whereas the image on the left shows the corresponding PALM image in the region outlined.
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