Image of the Month: X-Ray Vision

Using an X-ray-sensitive lanthanide-binding tag (LBT), scientists have demonstrated a new technique for imaging proteins in 3D at nanoscale resolution. By combining LBT with X-ray fluorescence, the method enables researchers to precisely locate proteins within individual cells, reaching the resolution of even the smallest subcellular organelles. In the above image, the technique reveals the concentrations of erbium (yellow) and zinc (red) in an E. coli cell expressing an LBT tag.

Credit: Brookhaven National Laboratory