Scientists develop virtual nanoscopy

The technique is described by Faas et al., from Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands, in the August 6^th issue of JCB. The researchers were able to stitch together over 26,000 individual images to generate an almost complete electron micrograph of a zebrafish embryo encompassing 281 gigapixels in total at a resolution of 16 million pixels per inch. Using the JCB DataViewer, the zebrafish image can be navigated from the level of the whole, 1.5 millimeter-long embryo down to subcellular structures.

The technology addresses the problem of relating tiny portions and structures, captured by electron microscopy, to the cell as whole, and to the tissue or organ in which the cell is located. The ability to integrate information across cells and tissues will provide researchers with exceptional opportunities for future discoveries. But the image’s large size and complexity meant that providing access to Faas et al.’s data necessitated a major upgrade to the JCB DataViewer, a browser-based image hosting platform originally launched in 2008 to promote the sharing of original data associated with JCB publications.