Zeiss Lightsheet 7 Microscope: Transforming Imaging for Bioscience Discoveries

显微镜能让我们看到肉眼看不到的世界。我们可以以惊人的细节看到单个细胞的机制是如何工作的。这包括细胞如何对营养物质做出反应并储存能量，脑细胞如何处理控制行为或衰老过程中的变化的信息，以及我们的免疫系统如何抵御感染的攻击。我们目前的显微镜设备通过聚焦在特定深度的一个“切片”信息，使我们能够以非常高的分辨率看到细胞内部。“切片”上方和下方的信息会使图像模糊，难以理解，因此被忽略。然而，这只适用于非常薄的切片，可能只有一个或几个细胞厚。此外，这些系统使用的照明会对细胞和组织造成损害。这限制了它们可以成像的时间，特别是当使用活细胞时。薄片显微镜彻底改变了传统的显微镜。使用特殊的化学方法，我们可以使样品更加透明，通过发光，我们可以在不损害组织的情况下，以三维的方式看到整个生物体或器官。此外，光片显微镜只需要我们现有显微镜拍摄细胞不同深度图像所需时间的一小部分。举个例子，我们可以用这种方法对整个啮齿动物的大脑进行成像，以精细的细节将连接整个大脑的神经细胞的惊人多样性可视化。这将让我们看到新的联系，这些联系是理解我们如何从环境中收集和处理信息的关键，它如何影响肥胖、糖尿病、情绪或成瘾等问题，以及如何促进大脑的健康衰老和预防痴呆症等疾病。这种新设备将改变我们在阿伯丁大学所能做的一系列令人兴奋的工作。我们已经从BBSRC获得了一系列项目的资金，这些项目可以通过使用薄片显微镜达到一个新的水平。这将推动我们在营养和代谢健康、健康老龄化、感染和寄生虫学等领域的世界领先研究。它还将为理解生命基本规律的突破性研究开辟令人兴奋的新机会。我们在阿伯丁大学有一个专门的大学支持的显微镜设施，拥有高技能的工作人员，他们培训研究人员并在我们项目的各个阶段提供专家建议。薄片显微镜将成为这个世界级设施的一部分，使我们保持在生物科学成像的前沿。重要的是，苏格兰北部没有类似的设施或设备，最令人兴奋的应用包括现场成像，这需要现场设施。简而言之，这些尖端设备与BBSRC资助的关键优先领域的世界级专业知识相结合，意味着这笔资金的奖励将真正改变阿伯丁大学和苏格兰北部更广泛地开展更大影响力、令人兴奋的营养、健康老龄化、痴呆、感染等研究的能力。

Microscopes allow us to see a world that is not visible with the naked eye. We can see in astonishing detail how the machinery of individual cells work. This includes how cells respond to nutrients and store energy, how brain cells process information controlling behaviour or change during ageing and how our immune system fights off attack from infections. Our current microscopy equipment allows us to see inside cells in very high resolution by focussing only on one "slice" of information at a particular depth. Information above and below the "slice", which would make the image blurred and hard to understand, is ignored. However, this only works for very thin slices, perhaps one or a few cells thick. Moreover, the illumination these systems use can cause damage to cells and tissues. This limits how long they can be imaged, particularly when using live cells. Light sheet microscopes revolutionise conventional microscopy. Using special chemical methods, we can make samples more transparent, and by shining light, we can visualise whole organisms or organs in three dimensions without damaging the tissue. In addition, light sheet microscopy takes a fraction of the time it would take to image different depths in the cell with our existing microscopes. As an example, we can use this method to image a whole rodent brain, visualising an astonishing variety of nerve cells that connect throughout the brain in exquisite detail. This will let us see new connections that hold the key to understanding how we collect and process information from our environment, how this may influence things such as obesity, diabetes, mood or addiction or how to promote healthy ageing in the brain and prevent conditions such as dementia. This new equipment would transform the range of exciting work we can do at the University of Aberdeen. We already have funding for a range of projects from the BBSRC that could be taken to a new level by using light sheet microscopy. This would drive forward our world leading research in areas such as nutrition and metabolic health, healthy ageing and infection and parasitology. It would also open exciting new opportunities for ground-breaking research to understand the fundamental rules of life. We have a dedicated University supported facility for microscopy at the University of Aberdeen with highly skilled staff who train researchers and provide expert advice at all stages of our projects. The light sheet microscope would be part of this world-class facility keeping us at the cutting edge of bioscience imaging. Importantly, there are no similar facilities or equipment in the north of Scotland and the most exciting applications involve live imaging which requires on site facilities. Simply put, the combination of this cutting-edge equipment with the world-class expertise in key priority areas for BBSRC funding mean that the award of this funding would genuinely transform the capacity for even greater high impact, exciting research in nutrition, healthy ageing, dementia, infection and much more at the University of Aberdeen and the north of Scotland more widely.