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Focus On Virology

Due to the extremely small size of viruses (5-300 nm), their structure and function have always been a challenge to study. Over recent centuries, many viruses have been discovered, and vaccines against them developed, but it was the invention of the electron microscope in 1931 that enabled their complex structures to be visualized. Since then, Nikon has become an expert in providing advanced light microscopy systems to image virus structure and infectivity in real time with high resolution and high throughput. In times when rapid and reliable analysis of viruses is essential, the importance of such equipment has become even more apparent.

Image courtesy of Rudolph Reimer, Heinrich Pette Institute, Leibniz Institute for Experimental Virology

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Focus On Super-Resolution

For hundreds of years optical microscopy was relegated to the diffraction-limited regime, unable to resolve details smaller than approximately 200 nm (in XY) and 500 nm (in Z). That limit has been shattered, spawning a number of techniques and culminating in the 2014 Nobel Prize in Chemistry being awarded to pioneers in super-resolution microscopy. We can now image with twice the resolution as previous with structured illumination microscopy (SIM), and about 10x greater resolution with Stochastic Optical Reconstruction Microscopy (STORM).

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Focus On IVF

Nikon microscopes have played a key role in the development of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART); the United States’ first in vitro fertilization (IVF) baby was conceived with the help of a Nikon Diaphot inverted microscope. Nikon has provided excellent optical quality and cell-friendly observation methods in response to the need of in vitro fertilization to minimize environmental stress during observation and maintain high cell viability.

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Focus On Neurobiological Imaging

The neurobiological imaging landscape is rapidly shifting due to technical advances in established fields such as tissue clearing and multiphoton in vivo imaging, but also the emergence of exciting new technologies such as optogenetics and super-resolution microscopy. Nikon is committed to the development, refinement, and support of technologies enabling cutting-edge neurobiological research.

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