Researchers at the University of North Florida's Materials Science and Engineering Research Facility watched as dozens of dots scattered across their computer screen. Some dots balled up, others exploded.
The dots were cancerous cells from a brain tumor recently removed by a Mayo Clinic neurosurgeon. The visual was made possible by an advanced microscope, the only one of its kind in North America, which can zoom into individual cells without staining and killing cells, as microscopes typically do.
"It gives a great view of cells interacting," said Maarten Rotman, a post-doctoral researcher in the Mayo Neurosurgery Lab.
The microscope is made by TESCAN, one of the leading microscopy manufacturers in the world, and is housed at UNF for 90 days while TESCAN validates and markets the product. It allows researchers to watch cells interact for days at a time, a research advantage previously unavailable.
"This is absolutely novel," said Rotman.
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