New Technique Allows Us to See Living Samples as Small as 13 Nanometres

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Scientists have developed a new microscopy technique that can produce super-resolution imaging, showing live samples 10 times smaller than what can be currently achieved.

The technique has finally pushed the field of microscopy through a bottleneck created by the high heat and cost of lasers, and allows researchers to investigate the tiniest of samples without frying them.

Currently, in order to switch each individual pixel on and off for super-resolution imaging, you need a bulky laser with lots of power," says Dayong Jin, a University of Technology Sydney (UTS) scientist and lead researchers on the project.

"The high-powered laser means you end up with very expensive equipment, typically over $1 million. And with such a high-powered laser shining on a fragile biological sample, the sample essentially becomes 'cooked'."

The research has been published in Nature.