Scientists create revolutionary 'DNA microscope' to peer into human cells at the genetic level

Remarkable footage shows how a revolutionary technique is letting scientists peer into cells at the genetic level -- both imaging the cell and sequencing its DNA. Unlike traditional microscopes, which use light, the new approach uses DNA'bar codes' to label each molecule in the cell. From readings of the complex interactions of these labels with the molecules and each other, a computer algorithm can work backward to reveal an image of the cell. DNA microscopy could find myriad applications -- including helping scientists study immune cells and tumours to develop new treatments to fight cancer. The unorthodox imaging technique was developed by biophysicist Joshua Weinstein and colleagues at the Broad Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts.