Micro-life

Microscopes allow us to take a peek at the multitude of life bustling away at a scale of less than a thousandth of a millimetre. Often to catch what is going on at such small dimensions, the cell or organism must be frozen in time using harsh chemical and physical treatments that ultimately kill the specimen. Watching living samples with the same level of detail is a more complicated endeavour. Using scanning electron microscopy, scientists have for the first time captured the fine details of an intact living organism, in this case a tick (pictured). This raises hope that other living organisms and cells could also be viewed in action at this resolution.

Written by Lux Fatimathas

Lux Fatimathas

Writer

Having pursued science through a career in research, communications and publishing, she is currently a writer and editor for a healthcare marketing agency and also juggles freelance science writing.

• Naohisa Tomosugi
• Kanazawa Medical University, Japan
• Originally published under Creative Commons (CC-BY 2.0)
• Published in PLoS ONE 7(3)