UC Berkeley physicists have introduced phase contrast to the electron microscope, allowing scientists to see much smaller molecules and smaller structures inside cells.
This phase change boosts contrast for small molecules, such as hemoglobin, and for molecules and structures inside cells, such as the nucleus and mitochondria.
“With cryo-ET, we’re looking at small, very complicated cellular material that’s incredibly crowded inside the cell,” said Bridget Carragher, founding technical director of imaging at Biohub in Redwood City, California “It’s like a forest of trees, and you’re trying to find one leaf on one tree in there. Cryo-ET needs a dramatic step forward in contrast, so we can start to see what’s going on inside the cell. That’s what the laser phase plate promises to give us.”
So cool.