Microscopy

Microscopy is an umbrella term to describe techniques used to analyse small samples that cannot be viewed with the naked eye. There is a wide range of microscopy techniques and scientific instruments available that can be used depending on their applications. A microscope magnifies tiny objects or samples and can provide a wealth of vital information about their cell structure, contamination, parasites and so much more.

This hub will contain all of the information you need to know about microscopy and will include the latest news and fascinating research articles. Whether you are looking to expand your knowledge of compound microscopes or fluorescence microscopy, you will find it all here under featured articles and the latest interviews.

What is Microscopy?

The word microscope is derived from the Greek “mikros”, meaning small and, “skopein” meaning to see.

Confocal Microscopy: An Overview

The Determination of Post-Mortem Interval (PMI) Using Transmission Electron Microscopy

Microscopes in Forensic Epidemiology- An Overview

Identifying Corpses Using Microscopy

Intravital Kidney Microscopy: An Overview

Microscopy’s Involvement in Brain Imaging

Using Electron Microscopy to Detect Viruses

Two-photon Microscopy Principles and Methodology

Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM): An Overview

What is Expansion Microscopy?

Cryo-Electron Microscopy: An Overview

See more featured articles »

Applications of Polarized Light Microscopy

Microscopy and Artificial Intelligence

‘Staining’ of Biological Samples when Using Electron Microscopy: Why stain density matters

What is High-Resolution TEM (HR-TEM)?

Advances in Scanning Electron Microscopy

Confocal Reflection Microscopy for Cell Migration Studies

Understanding the Brain Through Electron Microscopy

TEM Imaging Modes

Microscopy and Artificial Intelligence

Using Microscopy for Deep In Vivo Brain Imaging

What are Polarized Light Microscopes and How Do They Work?

Investigating the Intersection between Microscopy and Healthcare

Why Size Matters in Microscopy

What is Confocal Imaging?

Avoiding Cell Death in Fluorescence Microscopy

What is FIB-SEM?

What is Environmental Forensic Microscopy?

Light Microscopy Techniques in Virology: An Overview

Imaging Nuclear Structures Using AFM

The Digital Evolution of Microscopy

Light Microscopy Techniques in Virology: An Overview

How Do Spectrometer Accessories Elevate Instrument Capabilities?

Optimizing Live Cell Imaging with FRET Microscopy

Expansion Microscopy in Neurology

Transmission Electron Microscopy: An Overview

Fluorescence Microscopy: An Overview

Deep Learning in Fluorescence Microscopy

Diagnosing Alzheimer's Using Microscopy

TEM Imaging Modes

Applications of Scanning Electron Microscopy

Microscopy in Oncology Research: Visualizing Tumor Microenvironments

Photobleaching in Fluorescence Microscopy

Role of Microscopy in Ballistics

Advances in Fluorescence Microscopy

‘Staining’ of Biological Samples when Using Electron Microscopy: Why stain density matters

Applications of 3D X-ray Microscopy

Investigating the Applications of Meoscopy

Phase-Contrast Microscopy: An Overview

Uses of Microscopy in Forensics

Scanning Helium Microscopy: An Overview

Imaging Techniques in Drug Discovery

X-ray Microscopy: An Overview

Visualizing the 3D Architecture of Tissues

Optical Microscopy: An Overview

Live-Cell Imaging with Super-Resolution Microscopy

Electron Microscopy: An Overview

Differentiating Tumors using Microscopy

Advantages and Limitations of Fluorescence Microscopy

What is 3D X-Ray Microscopy?

How do Epifluorescence Microscopes Work?

Applications of IVIS (In Vivo Imaging Systems)

Using Scanning Electron Microscopy to Image SARS-CoV-2

Optimizing Live Cell Imaging with FRET Microscopy

Latest Microscopy News and Research

Self-Propelled Actin Structures Drive Shape Changes in Human Cells

Every time a white blood cell engulfs a bacterium, a neuron extends a projection to connect with a neighboring cell, or when a cancer cell forcefully squeezes through tissue to spread, the cell must change its shape to accommodate the movement.

26 Jun 2026

Antibiotics Trigger Accelerated Protein Sharing Among Genetically Identical Bacterial Populations

When bacteria are under antibiotic attack, it is not 'every man for himself.' Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and colleagues from collaborating institutions have discovered that bacterial populations work as a team to survive antibiotics.

26 Jun 2026

Scientists Decode 3D Structure of Vision Proteins to Fight Blindness

They allow us to see the world in thousands of colors: red strawberries, green leaves, the blue sky.

26 Jun 2026

Researchers Discover Molecules Targeting Vital Cell Signaling Proteins

To function normally, nearly every cell in the human body relies on G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) to receive and send signals. That's why GPCRs are targeted by roughly one-third of all FDA‑approved drugs.

25 Jun 2026

Real-Time Molecular Tool Observes Complex Immune System Changes

A lot of things need to go right on a molecular level for immune cells to launch an adaptive response to an infection.

24 Jun 2026

Cryo-EM Imaging Uncovers the Structure of a Mysterious Molecular "Gate"

How large, fully folded proteins can pass through cell membranes without destroying them has long been one of the open questions in cell biology. Using cryo-electron microscopy (cryo‑EM), Leonid Sazanov and Ziyu Zhao at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) have now uncovered new details about a molecular "gate." Their findings were published in Molecular Cell.

23 Jun 2026

Aberdeen Researcher Awarded Prestigious $1.2 M International Grant to Uncover How New Traits Evolve

An Aberdeen-based researcher has been awarded a highly prestigious international research grant to investigate one of biology’s most enduring mysteries: how completely new traits evolve in animals.

23 Jun 2026

AI-Designed Protein Nanocages Pave Way for Advanced Drug Delivery

An international research team led by a Korean scientist has succeeded in designing large-scale protein structures that faithfully replicate the self-assembly principles found in naturally occurring viruses, using artificial intelligence (AI).

18 Jun 2026

Tracking Individual Membrane Translocation Accelerates Precision Microscopic Drug Screening Efforts

A new single-protein analysis technique gives researchers an unprecedented ability to study proteins called scramblases, which have critical roles in biology.

16 Jun 2026

Phage Surface Proteins Act as Molecular Anchors to Attach Cells

Bacteriophages, or phages, are viruses that infect bacteria and are not considered human pathogens. Yet researchers at the Translational Microbiology Laboratory of the Institute of Biochemistry, HUN-REN Biological Research Centre, Szeged, have shown that some gut phages can also physically interact with human cells.

13 Jun 2026

Laser Phase Plate in the Electron Microscope Promises Clear Images of Tiniest Proteins

Nearly 100 years ago, a seemingly simple discovery revolutionized the microscope. The introduction of phase-contrast, which garnered a Nobel Prize in 1953, brought into clear view structures inside cells that had previously been too faint or washed out for biologists to study.

12 Jun 2026

Scientists Track Tiny Human Proteins Using Novel Laser Phase Plate

In a landmark achievement in biological imaging, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley and Biohub today announced the successful demonstration of the laser phase plate.

12 Jun 2026

Cryo-EM Study Unlocks Structural Secrets of RNA Therapeutics

RNA therapeutics have emerged as one of the most promising new classes of medicines. Eight small interfering RNA (siRNA) drugs have already been approved worldwide for the treatment of genetic diseases, yet scientists have not fully understood one of the most fundamental steps underlying their function: how Argonaute, the core protein responsible for gene silencing, becomes activated.

11 Jun 2026