Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Microscopy

Light from the dark

Fluorescence microscopy is the most popular way to image biomolecules, but it leaves many of them in the dark. Non-fluorescent, light-absorbing molecules can now be viewed by a method that turns them into mini-lasers.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Imaging non-fluorescent molecules using stimulated emission.

References

  1. Min, W. et al. Nature 461, 1105–1109 (2009).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Schäfer, F. P. Dye Lasers (Springer, 1973).

    Google Scholar 

  3. Schawlow, A. L. & Townes, C. H. Phys. Rev. 112, 1940–1949 (1958).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Hell, S. W. & Wichmann, J. Opt. Lett. 19, 780–782 (1994).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Fu, D. et al. J. Biomed. Opt. 12, 054004 (2007).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  6. Freudiger, C. W. et al. Science 322, 1857–1861 (2008).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Dong, C. Y., So, P. T. C., Buehler, C. & Gratton, E. Optik 106, 7–14 (1997).

    Google Scholar 

  8. Hell, S. W. Nature Biotechnol. 21, 1347–1355 (2003).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Hell, S., Rittweger, E. Light from the dark. Nature 461, 1069–1070 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/4611069a

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/4611069a

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing