This beautiful video gives us a 3D look inside cells
![A staircase looking like a snail is pictured in a Munich building 'Haus der Bayrischen Wirtschaft' on February 14, 2012. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle](https://assets.weforum.org/article/image/large_EyM48Y2Q58_2IU5ZGpPE7HnQGxs3tMlw1DOV1qVdPvc.jpg)
Image: REUTERS/Michaela Rehle
![A hand holding a looking glass by a lake](/uplink.jpg)
Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale
Stay up to date:
Fourth Industrial Revolution
This video opens up the inside of cells, in a way never seen before.
The research published in Cell uses new microscopy techniques to explore, in 3D, tiny structures inside cells such as mitochondria, the "fuel pack" of a cell.
The researchers argue that their approach “permits ultra-high resolution 3D imaging of virtually any subcellular structure”. They hope this will allow previously unanswerable questions about cell biology to be tackled, potentially opening up new avenues in curing disease.
The images of a mouse cell are made of millions of molecules, which appear as bright white dots, before turning into coloured dots. They represent structures that pair paternal and maternal chromosomes during reproduction.
As the commentary highlights, the video allows an extraordinary new level of detail. The researchers have also mapped a number of other structures, as shown in this graphic.
![](https://assets.weforum.org/editor/-7AM4_WgxeFH_LMNGG0-AXdHngpF3aucKMC5O25Sleg.jpg)
The researchers say that imaging a range of organelles (tiny structures within cells that perform specific functions) is a powerful tool. It “promises a new perspective on how proteins distribute across entire organelles throughout whole cells, a key unmet challenge in cell biology”.
Have you read?
Don't miss any update on this topic
Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.
License and Republishing
World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.
The Agenda Weekly
A weekly update of the most important issues driving the global agenda
You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails. For more details, review our privacy policy.
More on Fourth Industrial RevolutionSee all
How governments can attract innovative manufacturing industries and promote 4IR technologies like AI
M.B. Patil and Alok Medikepura Anil
June 24, 2024
John Lombard
June 24, 2024
Pooja Chhabria
June 23, 2024
Sara Al Hudaithy and Anu Devi
June 4, 2024