A newer twist on electron microscopy, developed in the 1980s, can reveal the internal structures of nerve cells. Researchers use a detergent to remove the cell membrane. Platinum and carbon are deposited onto the exposed surfaces to reproduce the cell’s interior features as a three-dimensional mold, which is then examined in the microscope. This image shows a hippocampal neuron that has been stripped of its membrane to expose the cytoskeleton, a scaffold that regulates the cell’s growth and movement. Credit: Bernd Knöll (University of Tübingen), Jürgen Berger, and Heinz Schwarz (Max-Planck-Institute for Developmental Biology)

A newer twist on electron microscopy, developed in the 1980s, can reveal the internal structures of nerve cells. Researchers use a detergent to remove the cell membrane. Platinum and carbon are deposited onto the exposed surfaces to reproduce the cell’s interior features as a three-dimensional mold, which is then examined in the microscope. This image shows a hippocampal neuron that has been stripped of its membrane to expose the cytoskeleton, a scaffold that regulates the cell’s growth and movement.

Credit: Bernd Knöll (University of Tübingen), Jürgen Berger, and Heinz Schwarz (Max-Planck-Institute for Developmental Biology)

  1. Date Posted Icon 29th May 2012
  2. Notes Icon Notes: 7
    3. Tags Icon #electron microscopy#Cells#nerve
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    I wouldn’t mind making this as part of my living. The cellular and atomic world is a fascinating place :].
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