Researchers can use the light naturally thrown off by biological specimens to better study the different states of stem cells in the nervous system
When cells shift from active to quiescent states, the presence and abundance of certain proteins important to metabolism change. These molecules alter the way light is absorbed and emitted back out of the cell. By focusing on light emitted by parts of the cell that change in key ways with quiescence, the researchers identified the light « signature » that matches a target cell state.
