Events

For many centuries improving the resolution of light microscopy meant perfecting lenses and other optical elements, a strategy whose limits became evident with the discovery of the diffraction barrier in 1873. (...) At the turn of this century, the diffraction barrier was radically overcome, and it became clear that lens-based fluorescence microscopes can resolve features down to the molecular scale. At its most fundamental level, this breakthrough in resolution is based on the fact that tiny features in the sample are no longer discerned by the focusing of light. (...)

ASCB is an inclusive, international community of biologists studying the cell, the fundamental unit of life. We are dedicated to advancing scientific discovery, advocating sound research policies, improving education, promoting professional development, and increasing diversity in the scientific workforce.

The next Facility Managers Meeting aimed at people running or working in light microscopy facilities will be held at the University of Liverpool. From very humble beginnings, we have grown to a much more significant and influential community of facility managers. Numbers of attendees have grown 10 fold since the first meeting in 2006 as more and more facilities have opened. We now represent one of the best organised facility groupings in the UK if not indeed the world. (...)

The Biophysical Society was founded in the 1950s to lead the development and dissemination of knowledge in biophysics through many activities including meetings, publications, community outreach, and career placement. The Society members, of which there are currently over 9,000, work in academia, industry, and government agencies worldwide. Membership is open to scientists who have educational, research, or practical experience in biophysics or an allied scientific field (excerpted from the Biophysical Society’s Constitution and Bylaws).

The origin of the FOM conference series lies in the three-dimensional imaging capabilities of confocal microscopy, together with the associated 3D image processing. (...) The last years especially have seen the successful realization of sub-Abbe resolution optical imaging by a number approaches to such a degree that the term nanoscopy has been rightfully been introduced. (...) The FOM conferences constitute an effective meeting point for developers and users working in this rapidly evolving field, playing an important role in the dissemination of information about new developments.