Breakthrough microscopy technique “supersizes” cells to reveal genetic activity

Breakthrough microscopy techniques are helping researchers visualize the ways our molecules interact with the human genome.

Researchers at Yale School of Medicine used a series of expandable gels to pull apart a cell and expand it to 4000 times its original volume, while preserving the organization of its proteins.

The new method allows scientists to see for the first time the process by which genes are turned “on” and “off” in cells.