Imaging technique is a billionth of a meter and the power of a micropipette straw.

The Cambridge University photograph has a very high accuracy but looks strange compared to the usual photos and so draws people's attention.

It is a photograph that is about the same size as a human hair and the photographic material made entirely from DNA with fluorescent agents does not cause glare.

The image was created by the technique used by scientists to study the smallest structures of the body while it is working.

David Klenerman of Cambridge University said that the study using this new technique could help scientists observe images of extremely small human cells working without affecting them.

(Photo: Dong Nai Department of Science and Technology) He spoke at the Science Festival of the UK Science Development Association: "We know very well about each of the molecules that make up living cells but we need to know how they link together. "

When photographing high-resolution cellular images, it was always accompanied by the death of cells, so scientists could not observe the cells when they were active.

The method used to take this photo of Cambridge University is called SICM (Scanning Ion Conductance Microscopy).

SICM belongs to the group of probe scanning microscopes specially designed to scan soft materials and do not conduct electrically conductive high resolution in electrolyte solution. And to get higher contrast images, SICM has been greatly improved and until today SICM allows capturing living cells without affecting them. The new SICM method used by Cambridge University is considered by Klenerman to be a major breakthrough.

"This method is like photographing living cells with an electron scanning microscope using electron beams. This method opens up the ability to track biology at a billionth ratio," he said.

He explained, it is possible that scientists can now study extremely small proteins on the cell surface in detail or observe a virus attacking the body.

Pay attention to details

This technology is based on an empty and small straw, called a micropipette. This straw transfers a small amount of voltage to the surface of the cell.

The smaller the micropipette is near the cell surface, the smaller the voltage flow between the suction tube and the other electrode.

Scientists can use the change in voltage flow to take pictures of the surface of the cell.

Mr. David Klenerman
(Photo: cam.ac.uk)

This method of using microscopes is not new but now scientists have created a micropipette much smaller than any previous micropipette. Its resolution can now reach 10 nanometers (equivalent to billions of a meter).

Micropipette straws can also be used to study extremely small cell lines, called ion channels, and can be used to push and pull cell walls to see how the cells react.

The Cambridge University photographic image is just a funny photograph, but it demonstrates the power of a new technique: the ability to move molecules to a very specific location at will. .

"We have good control over moving molecules to the cell surface and so we can create beautiful images using DNA with fluorescent material. this is the size [one million parts of a meter] "

Scientists hope this technique can be used to study neurological diseases and heart diseases.