With conventional fluorescence, the signal from mutated DNA might be only a few tenths of a percent higher than the background noise.

With all cancers—but particularly with esophageal cancers—early detection can mean the difference between effective treatment and devastation.

A method of two-photon microscopy is now enabling highly detailed whole-brain imaging.

Cell migration is critical to such biological functions as wound healing and cancer metastasis, which require that many cells move together.

The ability to make cancerous tissue glow promises great advantages for tumor detection during fluoresence image-guided surgery.

A new microscopy method developed by an international research group is allowing 3-D observation of single nerve cells in intact tissue.

Because quantum dots emit and absorb light so efficiently, the idea of using them as light sources for bioimaging is compelling.

Spatial light interference microscopy (SLIM), a label-free, automated technique that enables quantitative visualization of nanoscale structures, uses phase-contrast microscopy and holography to combine multiple light waves.

A nanowire-based endoscope system is enabling fluorescence study of biological processes within single living cells in high spatial and temporal resolution.

A new imaging approach called vibrational molecular interferometry eliminates the background noise that can make it difficult to interpret CARS images, according to researchers at the University of Twente's MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, who developed it.

The exhibits at this year's Biomedical Optics Symposium featured exciting advances in a wide range of biophotonics tools: Spectral imaging systems, spectroscopy tools, cameras, and light sources, among other areas.

The fun and fast-paced BiOS Hot Topics session, held the opening night of BiOS/Photonics West 2012, showcased some of the most fascinating research being done with biophotonics—and kept audience members in their seats late into the evening.

Regulatory bodies including the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have recently cleared a number of biophotonics instruments for clinical application.

Wet AMD is a major cause of blindness and visual impairment in adults over 50, and currently the only treatment is weekly injection of drugs into the eyeball. But results of a Phase 1 human study show promise that a minimally invasive, fiber-optic based device by Salutaris Medical Devices could prove effective, providing relief in multiple ways to the many people affected.

A 90-second, noninvasive test using the palm of a person's hand can yield a snapshot of carotenoid levels (an antioxidant that protects cells from damage caused by free radicals) and indicate overall nutritional health.

Bella, an abandoned German shepherd found wandering by herself on the side of a highway in Hampton, VA, was rescued by a kind stranger recently and taken to Deer Park Animal Hospital (Newport News, VA) for medical care.

The B-Scope multiphoton imaging system provides over 254 mm of coarse travel in the z-axis and can rotate, enabling imaging of moving animals.

Nanopositioning is a key enabler for such super-resolution microscopy techniques as photoactivated localization microscopy, spatially modulated illumination, and stimulated emission depletion.