Revolutionary Imaging Technique Reveals Intricate Inner Workings of Living Cells

MIT researchers have developed a new method for imaging living cells that allows them to observe up to seven different molecules at a time, potentially enabling a comprehensive study of cellular behavior. The technique involves using switchable fluorophores, fluorescent proteins that turn on and off at different rates, to label different types of molecules within a cell. By imaging the cell over time and using a computational algorithm to extract each fluorescent signal, researchers can track changes in the amount of each target protein. This approach could provide insights into various biological phenomena, including aging, disease, and cellular responses to different stimuli.