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.

TEM Imaging Modes

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

Avoiding Cell Death in Fluorescence Microscopy

What is Environmental Forensic Microscopy?

Identifying Corpses Using Microscopy

Imaging Nuclear Structures Using AFM

What is FIB-SEM?

Deep Learning in Fluorescence Microscopy

Applications of Polarized Light Microscopy

Confocal Reflection Microscopy for Cell Migration Studies

See more featured articles »

Fluorescence Microscopy: An Overview

What is Expansion Microscopy?

Transmission Electron Microscopy: An Overview

Two-photon Microscopy Principles and Methodology

How Do Spectrometer Accessories Elevate Instrument Capabilities?

Advantages and Limitations of Fluorescence Microscopy

Photobleaching in Fluorescence Microscopy

Electron Microscopy: An Overview

Understanding the Brain Through Electron Microscopy

Phase-Contrast Microscopy: An Overview

Confocal Microscopy: An Overview

Microscopes in Forensic Epidemiology- An Overview

Why Size Matters in Microscopy

Intravital Kidney Microscopy: An Overview

Microscopy in Oncology Research: Visualizing Tumor Microenvironments

Differentiating Tumors using Microscopy

Investigating the Applications of Meoscopy

Optimizing Live Cell Imaging with FRET Microscopy

Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM): An Overview

Imaging Techniques in Drug Discovery

Expansion Microscopy in Neurology

Visualizing the 3D Architecture of Tissues

Cryo-Electron Microscopy: An Overview

Light Microscopy Techniques in Virology: An Overview

Using Scanning Electron Microscopy to Image SARS-CoV-2

Advances in Scanning Electron Microscopy

What is Confocal Imaging?

Optical Microscopy: An Overview

Scanning Helium Microscopy: An Overview

How do Epifluorescence Microscopes Work?

The Digital Evolution of Microscopy

Light Microscopy Techniques in Virology: An Overview

Using Electron Microscopy to Detect Viruses

Diagnosing Alzheimer's Using Microscopy

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

Advances in Fluorescence Microscopy

Role of Microscopy in Ballistics

Microscopy’s Involvement in Brain Imaging

X-ray Microscopy: An Overview

What are Polarized Light Microscopes and How Do They Work?

Microscopy and Artificial Intelligence

Optimizing Live Cell Imaging with FRET Microscopy

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

Uses of Microscopy in Forensics

Applications of IVIS (In Vivo Imaging Systems)

Investigating the Intersection between Microscopy and Healthcare

Using Microscopy for Deep In Vivo Brain Imaging

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

Live-Cell Imaging with Super-Resolution Microscopy

What is 3D X-Ray Microscopy?

Microscopy and Artificial Intelligence

Applications of Scanning Electron Microscopy

Applications of 3D X-ray Microscopy

Latest Microscopy News and Research

Researchers Capture the Most Detailed Images of Molecules in Chromatin Condensates

A team of researchers led by HHMI Investigator Michael Rosen has captured the most detailed images yet of the molecules in chromatin condensates — droplet-like structures of compacted DNA.

5 Dec 2025

New Microscopy Reveals How Cells Actively Capture the Flu Virus

Researchers at ETH Zurich have achieved an unprecedented live, high-resolution visualization of influenza virus infection within living cells.

5 Dec 2025

Single-Cell RNA Imaging Uncovers Four Distinct Neuron Bands in the Hippocampus

Researchers at the Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute (Stevens INI) at the Keck School of Medicine of USC have identified a previously unknown pattern of organization in one of the brain's most important areas for learning and memory.

4 Dec 2025

Engineered Gut Bacteria With MiRNA Nanoparticles To Reverse IBD

Biomimetic nanoparticles delivering microRNA to gut bacteria enhance protective metabolites, repair intestinal barriers, and alleviate colitis symptoms.

3 Dec 2025

Decoding the Interaction Between SV2A Protein and Anti-Epileptic Drugs

A multi-institute team led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and UT Southwestern Medical Center investigators established for the first time how certain drugs used to treat epilepsy affect their target.

2 Dec 2025

Capturing a Self-Splicing Ribozyme in Motion

RNA is a central biological macromolecule, now widely harnessed in medicine and nanotechnology. Like proteins, RNA function often depends on its precise three-dimensional structure.

28 Nov 2025

Study Identifies Adipogenin as Crucial Driver of Lipid Droplet Formation

A microprotein called adipogenin appears to play a key role in helping fat cells store lipid droplets – a phenomenon that's pivotal for metabolic health, a study co-led by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers shows.

27 Nov 2025

Scientists Uncover Inner Workings of Biomolecular Condensates Linked to ALS

Inside the cell reside many tiny assembly factories and warehouses that gather together all of the proteins and RNAs-which carry out instructions from our DNA-that a living being needs.

27 Nov 2025

New Technique Reveals Synaptic Vesicle Dynamics in Living Brain Tissue

Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine say they have used a "zap-and-freeze" technology to watch hard-to-see brain cell communications in living brain tissue from mice and humans.

25 Nov 2025

Ribosome Collisions Activate Key Stress Signaling Mechanisms in Cells

LMU researchers uncover the mechanism by which ribosomes raise alarms in the cell.

25 Nov 2025

Chaperone-Shielding Mechanism Regulates Protein Glycosylation

Proteins are often called the building blocks of cells, but even those building blocks need to be built. One of the most important steps in the process of building proteins is glycosylation, when sugar molecules (glycans) are attached to the maturing protein.

20 Nov 2025

Lab-Grown Human “Blood Factory” Advances Drug and Disease Testing

The “blood factory” of the human body is composed of specialized tissue that includes bone cells, blood vessels, nerves, and various other cell types.

19 Nov 2025

Nanoplastics Accelerate Ovarian Cancer Growth At Real-World Exposure Levels

Research shows polystyrene nanoplastics accelerate ovarian cancer growth by activating CDK4/6 pathways, with Palbociclib offering a potential countermeasure.

19 Nov 2025

Breakthrough Microscope Enhances Detection Range for Cellular Observations

Researchers Kohki Horie, Keiichiro Toda, Takuma Nakamura, and Takuro Ideguchi of the University of Tokyo have built a microscope that can detect a signal over an intensity range fourteen times wider than conventional microscopes.

17 Nov 2025

New Tool Studies Kinase Activity During DNA Damage

Cornell researchers have developed a powerful new biosensor that reveals, in unprecedented detail, how and where kinases – enzymes that control nearly all cellular processes – turn on and off inside living cells.

14 Nov 2025

Phage Engineering: Characterizing Bacteriophages for Medical and Agricultural Applications

From medicine to agriculture and aquaculture, bacteriophages are poised to have a huge global impact. As viruses which target only bacterial cells, they hold promise as an alternative to antibiotics, overcoming increasing issues around antibiotic resistance.

13 Nov 2025

New Aquatic Arthropod Model Emerges from Visualization of Endosymbiosis in Ostracods

Ostracods, sometimes called seed shrimp, are nearly microscopic, aquatic organisms, inhabiting all types of marine and freshwater environments.

13 Nov 2025

Atomic Structure of Kinesin-2 Reveals the Molecular Logic of Cargo Recognition

For decades, scientists have known that motor proteins like kinesin-2 ferry vital cargo along microtubule "highways" inside cells.

7 Nov 2025

Using AI and "Protein Language" Models to Speed Monoclonal Antibody Design

Artificial intelligence (AI) and "protein language" models can speed the design of monoclonal antibodies that prevent or reduce the severity of potentially life-threatening viral infections, according to a multi-institutional study led by researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

6 Nov 2025

3D Ultrasound That Sees Entire Organ Blood Flow in Real Time

This study presents a multi-lens ultrasound system that offers tenfold higher resolution for whole-organ imaging, improving microvascular network visualization.

6 Nov 2025