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In 1873, Ernst Abbe discovered what was to become a well-knownparadigm: the inability of a lens-based optical microscope todiscern details that are closer together than half of the wavelengthof light. However, for its most popular imaging mode, fluorescencemicroscopy, the diffraction barrier is crumbling. Here, I discussthe physical concepts that have pushed fluorescence microscopyto the nanoscale, once the prerogative of electron and scanningprobe microscopes. Initial applications indicate that emergentfar-field optical nanoscopy will have a strong impact in thelife sciences and in other areas benefiting from nanoscale visualization.
Department of NanoBiophotonics, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, 37070 Göttingen, and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), High Resolution Optical Microscopy Division, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
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