German scientists have come up with a way to use high-energy X-rays to study living cells at a molecular level. Until now, researchers have had to immerse cells in preservation chemicals in order to look at them close up.
"The new method for the first time enables us to investigate the internal structures of living cells in their natural environment using hard X-rays,'" Sarah Köster of the Institute for X-Ray Physics of the University of Göttingen, told The Daily Mail.
Images produced by the new method are clear enough make nanometer-scale structures visible. The scientists said they were unsure what the technique means for scientific and medical research, but that it will allow researchers to study cells at a higher resolution and to better understand the inner mechanics of a living cell. Article