Live Cell Imaging: A Laboratory Manual

Recent advances in imaging technology reveal, in real time and great detail, critical changes in living cells and organisms. This manual is a compendium of emerging techniques, organized into two parts: specific methods such as fluorescent labeling, and delivery and detection of labeled molecules in cells; and experimental approaches ranging from the detection of single molecules to the study of dynamic processes in organelles, organs, and whole animals. Although presented primarily as a laboratory manual, the book includes introductory and background material and could be used as a textbook in advanced courses. It also includes a DVD containing movies of living cells in action, created by investigators using the imaging techniques discussed in the book.

The editors, David Spector and Robert Goldman, whose previous book was Cells: A Laboratory Manual, are highly respected investigators who have taught microscopy courses at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, the Marine Biology Laboratory at Woods Hole, and Northwestern University.

Overall, this new book is a superb resource for imaging techniques commonly used to improve time-lapse data, and a valuable addition to any laboratory's library. It emphasizes the multitude of model systems that can be studied using time-lapse imaging and will surely motivate many more to join the live cell imaging revolution. Nature Cell Biology The book has brought together some of the leading experts in the field of live cell imaging, each contributing a chapter that covers their particular area of expertise...Each chapter clearly introduces its subject, outlines the methods available (some with detailed protocols), and, most importantly, describes the pitfalls that can be encountered during live cell imaging. The length and detail contained is, in my opinion, ideal for gaining a good grounding in the subject of interest. I feel that this will be an excellent resource for experienced microscopists attempting live cell imaging for the first time. It would also be ideal for students wishing to learn more about the important functional information that can be gained from imaging living cells. The Quarterly Review of Biology Live Cell Imaging: A Laboratory Manual, edited by Goldman and Spector, is an extremely useful addition to their previous book Cells: A Laboratory Manual. As its name implies, it is a laboratory manual and as such contains all the pertinent information to carry out the full range of live cell imaging techniques, but it also has enough relevant background to be a useful reference manual or text for an advanced teaching course. Not only that, it provides the necessary theory of how the various optical systems that are available work, which are most suited to what task, and in many cases provides useful practical tips from some of the best practitioners in the field on how to modify and adapt these systems to best suit individual needs. The text is littered with examples, often including comparative studies to highlight the advantages of one technique or piece of equipment over another. The book comes with a digital versatile disk (DVD) containing movies to further illustrate the techniques discussed. The DVD provides extremely useful examples of what can be achieved, but also serves to highlight the realistic quality of information that can be gained by any given technique, something the na ef;ve reader may not be fully aware of. Laboratory Animals --Cold Spring Harbor