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Cell motility under the microscope: Vorsprung durch Technik

Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology volume 5, pages 667–672 (2004)Cite this article

Abstract

The fashion today is to disparage technology-led research but our view is that cell biologists, in particular, should be proud of their 'progress through technology'. The 'cell theory' itself, arguably the oldest cornerstone in the theoretical foundations of biology, emerged because Hooke, van Leeuwenhoek and others had, more than a century earlier, pioneered the enabling technology — the microscope. We develop this theme with reference to our own field of research: the locomotion of cultured tissue cells.

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Figure 1: Possibly the first illustration of cell motility.
Figure 2: Metchnikoff's drawing of phagocytes at a site of inflammation.
Figure 3: A mechanical intervalometer.
Figure 4: Fluorescence localization after photobleaching (FLAP).

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Acknowledgements

Work in our laboratory is funded by the Medical Research Council and the Wellcome Trust.

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  1. The Randall Division of Cell & Molecular Biophysics, King's College London, Guy's Campus, London, SE1 1UL, UK

    Graham A. Dunn & Gareth E. Jones

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Dunn, G., Jones, G. Cell motility under the microscope: Vorsprung durch Technik. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 5, 667–672 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrm1439

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