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Credit: O. Medalia et al., Science 298, 1209 (2002)
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Staining and fixing cells to examine their structures may soon be a thing of the past. Medalia et al. used cryoelectron tomography (cryo-ET), a pioneering technique that combines flash-freezing of whole cells with automated electron scanning, to create high-resolution 3D images of intact cellular organelles. This image shows a network of actin filaments (reddish), ribosomes (green), and membranes (blue) in the amoeba Dictostelium discoideum at a resolution of only 5 to 6 nanometers. Unlike conventional techniques, cryo-ET is noninvasive and so provides a unique window on the inner workings of a cell in its natural environment. (For more on cryo-ET, see the Medalia et al. Research Article and an accompanying news story by E. Goldman, in the 8 November 2002 issue of Science.)
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