Researchers at the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG) have developed a new method that makes it possible for the first time to image the three-dimensional shape of proteins with a conventional microscope. Combined with artificial intelligence, One-step Nanoscale Expansion (ONE) microscopy enables the detection of structural changes in damaged or toxic proteins in human samples. Diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, which are based on protein misfolding, could thus be detected and treated at an early stage. ONE microscopy was named one of the “seven technologies to watch in 2024” by the journal Nature and was recently published in the renowned journal Nature Biotechnology.

The inventors (from left), group leader Dr. Ali H. Shaib and Professor Dr. Silvio O. Rizzoli, director of the Department for Neuro- and Sensory Physiology at the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG). Photo: A. Shaib.