Fluorescence Microscopy
Imagine being able to “see” proteins at work inside a cell, or to track proteins from where they are made to where they go. Scientists can now do all of these things, thanks to advances in fluorescence microscopy. One advance came from the discovery that Pacific jellyfish, properly known as Aequorea victoria, produce a protein that glows. By fusing the gene for this protein to other genes, scientists can label different parts of the cell with fluorescence. Other advances include the development of additional highly specific fluorescent labels and the invention of powerful laser microscopes. As the images on this page show, the view is clearly amazing.
Suppose you are a cell biologist studying cell division and cancer. What might you use a fluorescence microscope to study? Describe your ideas in a paragraph.