title: 4D imaging to assay complex dynamics in live specimens.
abstract: A full understanding of cellular dynamics is often difficult to obtain from time-lapse microscopy of single optical sections. New microscopes and image-processing software are now making it possible to rapidly record three-dimensional images over time. This four-dimensional imaging allows precise quantitative analysis and enhances visual exploration of data by allowing cellular structures to be interactively displayed from many angles. It has become a key tool for understanding the complex organization of biological processes in live specimens.
authors.affiliation: Gene Expression and Cell Biology/Biophysics Programmes, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gerlich
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ellenberg
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007668:Kidney / Q000166:cytology*; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods; D018715:Microscopy, Video; D051381:Rats; D012984:Software