Shattering the diffraction limit of light: A revolution in fluorescence microscopy?

Identifying and cataloging all gene sequences and their corresponding protein high-resolution structures will serve only as a prelude to the real challenge of future biological inquiry—the deciphering of the cell circuitry and its detailed time-dependent responses to various stimuli. Most of the central functions of the cell are performed by highly organized self-assembled cellular machines that are controlled and regulated by a complex set of dynamic interactions between multiple molecular building blocks. Analytical tools will need to be developed to identify and measure these molecular interactions. Alongside the traditional methods of molecular biology, electron and x-ray microscopies, crystallography, immunocytochemistry, and many others, optical microscopy, and in particular fluorescence microscopy, will play a vital role in this endeavor.