Research note: Yale unveils 3D view of the world inside of cells

Yale University researchers, employing some tricks of powerful astronomy telescopes, have discovered a way to view in three dimensions tiny structures within cells such as mitochondria, the cellular power packs, and nuclear membranes that envelope DNA.

New generations of microscopy have opened up a dazzling world that exists in the interior of new cells. But even the best of the new technology has had a trouble of recording the depth of cellular structures – until now.

Yale University researchers, employing some tricks of powerful astronomy telescopes, have discovered a way to view in three dimensions tiny structures within cells such as mitochondria, the cellular power packs, and nuclear membranes that envelope DNA. In accompanying movie, researchers recorded three-dimensional representations of 19 paternal and maternal mouse chromosomes by using colored fluorescent tags attached to proteins that bind them together. The research paper was published online July 7 in the journal Cell.