Fluorescence microscopy is an essential tool to visualise cell biology in situ, but traditionally has limited spatial resolution due to the diffraction of light. New advances in EU research have made it possible to bypass this barrier and overlay nanoscale data in two colours and 3D via super-resolution fluorescence microscopy (SRFM).
Chromatin is the complex of DNA and organizational proteins that are packed within the nucleus. The structure of chromatin is extremely important as remodelling can result in gene activation or repression. Gene control is crucial to stem cell development where a pluripotent cell can become any of a number of cell types in the body; it is vital for researchers to have precise control of these cells for stem cell therapy. Equally important is epigenetics where gene transcription can be changed by chromatin environment.
Further details: Chromatin seen at the molecular level