sharper images of our body’s tiniest proteins

Ah! Don't look at my tiny proteins! 🫢 😳

Hey! That's really personal!

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.