• Question: Which new technologies for identifying individual immune cells help scientists determine which cells trigger an immune response under various circumstances?

    Asked by blancavalero to Carmen, Daniel, Laura, Noel, Steph on 9 Mar 2015.
    • Photo: Laura Garcia Ibanez

      Laura Garcia Ibanez answered on 9 Mar 2015:

      Hi Blanca! Thanks for your question. Currently, great part of the immunology research is done by flow cytometry. Flow cytometry is a technology that allows to distinguish individual cells based on their surface proteins (each cell type can be distinguish from others based on the presence of certain proteins on the cell surface). Also, multiphoton microscopy helps with this. With the use of multiphoton microscopy we are able to see how cells move and interact live.
      In my opinion both techniques are helping so much to determine how the immune response is triggered. Cheers!

    • Photo: Noel Carter

      Noel Carter answered on 9 Mar 2015:

      There are some really nice ways of doing very high resolution live microscopy.

      http://www.nano-immunology.org/research.html

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