Access

Published online 12 January 2009 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2009.15

News

MRI goes to the nanoscale

Picture of virus points way to kinder, gentler molecular imaging.

Roberta Kwok

By taking a snapshot of a virus, researchers have created the highest-resolution image ever made by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Such nanoscale MRI could one day offer a non-invasive way to reveal the three-dimensional details of biological structures such as proteins.

Comments

Reader comments are usually moderated after posting. If you find something offensive or inappropriate, you can speed this process by clicking 'Report this comment' (or, if that doesn't work for you, email webadmin@nature.com). For more controversial topics, we reserve the right to moderate before comments are published.

  • This is indeed a remarkable achievement. Is MRFM more precise than Atomic Force Microscopy? Kasim Salim.

    • 13 Jan, 2009
    • Posted by: KasimAbdul Salim

  • ¿Is it possible to develop a MRI technique to get images from live tissues at this scale? The TMV sample was dried and frozen.

    • 14 Jan, 2009
    • Posted by: Albert Gomis i Verdu