Light Microscopy: An ongoing contemporary revolution

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent advances in optical microscopy, highlighting breakthroughs like super-resolution techniques that challenge traditional limits and discussing future challenges and prospects in the field.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of recent developments in optical microscopy, emphasizing super-resolution methods and future research directions.

Findings

Super-resolution fluorescence microscopy has revolutionized the field.

New techniques expand imaging contrasts and capabilities.

Fundamental and practical challenges remain for future progress.

Abstract

Optical microscopy is one of the oldest scientific instruments that is still used in forefront research. Ernst Abbe's nineteenth century formulation of the resolution limit in microscopy let generations of scientists believe that optical studies of individual molecules and resolving sub-wavelength structures were not feasible. The Nobel Prize in 2014 for super-resolution fluorescence microscopy marks a clear recognition that the old beliefs have to be revisited. In this article, we present a critical overview of various recent developments in optical microscopy. In addition to the popular super-resolution fluorescence methods, we discuss the prospects of various other techniques and imaging contrasts and consider some of the fundamental and practical challenges that lie ahead.