Case studies - FocalPlane

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JCS snapshot - Cytotoxic T lymphocytes adapt to the loss of Cdc42

Posted by FocalPlane, on 10 September 2025

In our latest JCS snapshot, we hear from Adam Rochussen who, together with Gillian Griffiths and Claire Ma, discovered that cytotoxic T lymphocytes are able to adapt to the loss of the key polarity factor Cdc42. In this snapshot, Adam takes us through the key findings from their research.

FocalPlane features... meets preLights

Posted by FocalPlane, on 20 August 2025

For our second collaborative FocalPlane features… webinar we have teamed up with preLights, our sister community site. This webinar will be hosted by Felipe Del Valle Batalla (University of Edinburgh, UK) and Vibha Singh (Princess Margaret Cancer Research Tower (UHN), Canada), two members of the preLights community (known as preLighters), who have selected two recent

Illuminating the Brain: Microscopy Techniques in Neuroscience and My Applications in the Lab

Posted by Sally Horton, on 23 June 2025

Understanding the brain’s complexity requires more than theory or behaviour; it demands a look at the smallest units of structure and function. Microscopy has long been a cornerstone of neuroscience, evolving rapidly from conventional optical methods to cutting-edge super-resolution and electron techniques. This article explores how confocal microscopy, STORM, and electron microscopy are advancing our

A journey of a novice in immunofluorescence assay

Posted by Seth Domfeh, on 15 November 2024

I am Seth Domfeh, a lecturer and an early-career researcher from the Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana. I am delighted to share my experience before and during my research visit to the Africa Microscopy Initiative (AMI) Imaging Centre, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of

Kidney elastic fiber network changes in Marfan's Syndrome

Posted by Mario Elias Ortega Sandoval, on 19 July 2024

by de Souza RB*, Meek KM#, Lewis PN#, Pereira LV*. *Department of Genetics and Evolutionary Biology, University of São Paulo, Brazil #StructuralbBiophysics Research Group, School of Optometry and Vision Sciences of the United Kingdom, Cardiff University, UK Challenge Marfan’s syndrome (MFS) is an autosomal dominant disorder that affects the connective tissue, resulting from a mutation

FocalPlane features... Samrat Mukhopadhyay with PicoQuant

Posted by FocalPlane, on 31 January 2024

In case you missed ‘FocalPlane features…’, here is the recording of the webinar given by Samrat Mukhopadhyay on 'A deep dive into biomolecular condensates using single-molecule FRET', which we co-hosted with PicoQuant.

Targeted vCLEM of heterogeneous samples

Posted by Mario Elias Ortega Sandoval, on 15 January 2024

by Karel Mocaer* and Paolo Ronchi# *Schwab Team and #EMCF, EMBL Heidelberg, Germany Challenge Studying cells or events within their biological context (i.e. in tissues, ecosystem etc…) is highly relevant. However, volume EM techniques are limited in the volume that can be acquired. Therefore, targeting approaches are needed to characterize specific regions of interest. This

Deciphering cardiac multiscale organization

Posted by Georgina Fletcher, on 11 December 2023

by Sandra Rugonyi and Claudia López Oregon Health & Science University, Portland Oregon, USA Challenge The morphology, microstructure, and ultrastructure of heart tissues is exquisitely organized to optimize cardiac efficiency. In cases of cardiac malformations, known as congenital heart disease (CHD), spatially heterogeneous and abnormal ultrastructural patterns emerge as early as fetal stages that worsen

Upcoming webinar: A Deep Dive into Biomolecular Condensates Using Single-Molecule FRET

Sponsored by PicoQuant, on 22 November 2023

In a brand-new paper, Ashish Joshi and colleagues from the team of Samrat Mukhopadhyay at IISER Mohali take a close look at the molecular events during phase separation of the FUS protein with single-molecule fluorescence methods. If you want to learn more about these techniques and what they revealed about the complex behavior of the

Insights into the leaky Blood Brain Barrier by vEM

Posted by Georgina Fletcher, on 4 August 2023

by Martina Schifferer, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology SyNergy, Germany DOI: 10.1242/focalplane.15936 Challenge The Blood Brain Barrier (BBB) controls the exchange between blood and the brain parenchyme. Its structural determinants comprise tight junctions and endothelial vesicles which require resolution at the nanometer scale. In disease like stroke or traumatic brain

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Microscopy-related articles from our journals

HCR spectral imaging: 10-plex, quantitative, high-resolution RNA and protein imaging in highly autofluorescent samples Development 2024 151: dev202307
filoVision – using deep learning and tip markers to automate filopodia analysis J Cell Sci 2024 137: jcs261274
C omputational tools for quantifying actin filament numbers, lengths, and bundling Biology Open 2024 13: bio.060267

Microscopy-related preprint highlights

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