Imaging and Microscopy Research

Imaging and Microscopy Research at Bar-Ilan University: Exploring Hidden Worlds

Great science requires vision. That’s why advanced microscopy and imaging technologies play such an important role in the scientific achievements emanating from the laboratories of Bar-Ilan University. Ever since ancient times, scientific intuition and visual technology have gone hand in hand. The Romans were the first to note how magnification could be achieved by peering through plates of clear glass. In the 1600s, Antony van Loeowenhauk, a Dutch drapery salesman experimenting with a handcrafted microscope, was startled to discover the existence of single-celled organisms.

In the mid-20th century, electron microscopy revealed an entirely new biological world, teeming with mysterious subcellular structures. As electron microscopy pioneer Albert Claude put it when he received the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1974: “The facts have been far better than the dreams… We have entered the cell, the mansion of our birth, and started the inventory of our acquired wealth."

At Bar-Ilan, an increasing ability to observe phenomena hidden beyond the limits of the visible is fueling important advances related to medicine, communications, advanced materials and nano-electronics. Multi-disciplinary collaborations between professionals trained in biology, chemistry, physics and engineering are expanding technological horizons, and sharpening the tools that allow us to see – and manipulate – the building blocks of life.  

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