qPAINT

Most people wouldn’t quickly associate “democratization” and molecular labeling, but then, researchers at Harvard’s Wyss Institute aren’t like most people. They have devised a means for fluorescent labeling of tightly bunched molecules in such a way that the label lights up when it attaches to a specific DNA site and then turns off when it detaches. In this way, the light blinks. As they describe it, “a simplified method known as qPAINT uses the blinking pattern of the light that marks each molecule, to find, count and study individual molecules that are just a few nanometers apart — all using the standard microscopes already found in laboratories.” Being able to use standard microscopes, allowing greater collaboration, is what they mean by “democratization.” MORE

Image Credit: Harvard’s Wyss Institute Press Release