'Nano-Cameras' Look Inside Cells

Roland Piquepaille writes "Here is another fascinating story. In "Nanotech spy eyes life inside the cell," the New Scientist writes that researchers at Indiana University in Bloomington are using viruses carrying gold nanoparticles as 'nano-cameras' to image living cells and understand how the viruses do their work. The researchers took a virus that infects barley, put it in an alkaline solution and introduced the gold nanoparticles in the solution. Then they fired a green laser. When the laser hit the gold, it went in many directions, revealing what's inside the cell. Now, they have to test this technique on real plant cells. If it works, scientists will be able to really look at individual viruses. This summary contains more details and an illustration."