TUCSON, Ariz.– NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander has taken the first-ever image of a single particle of Mars’ ubiquitous dust, using its atomic force microscope. The particle — shown at higher magnification ...

Microscopes have long been scientists’ eyes into the unseen, revealing everything from bustling cells to viruses and nanoscale structures. However, even the most powerful optical microscopes have been ...

Microscopy continues to transform the life sciences. Here are five recent breakthroughs made possible by the technique.

When trying to measure molecular structures with nanometer precision, every bit of noise shows up in the data: someone walking past the microscope, tiny vibrations in the building and even the traffic ...

Optical and scanning electron microscope images of a nano-LED device that uses AC power instead of DC power, which could be a game-changer for sharper near-eye displays. Journalists may use this image ...

Researchers in Germany and Australia have created a simple but powerful tool to detect nanoplastics—tiny, invisible particles that can slip through skin and even the blood-brain barrier. Using an ...

Researchers at Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT-Italian Institute of Technology) have developed an innovative microscopy technique capable of improving the observation of living cells. The study, ...

Materials scientists can learn a lot about a sample material by shooting lasers at it. With nonlinear optical microscopy—a specialized imaging technique that looks for a change in the color of intense ...

Electron microscopy has become a vital tool in structural biology, enabling researchers to visualize biological macromolecules at near-atomic resolution. Recent advances have transformed it from a low ...

A new kind of microscope is giving scientists a way to watch life inside cells with a clarity that feels almost unfair.