科学镜头：图片揭示了细胞的重量

用一台显微镜和一个数码相机，通过分析物体对光的曲射和折射情况 ，以及图像处理算法，得出了人的1个红血细胞的平均干重为27.2万亿分之1克.

ScienceShot: Pictures Reveal Weight of Cells

科学镜头：图片揭示了细胞的重量

by Charles Choi on30 August 2012, 3:48 PM| 2 Comments

查尔斯·乔艾（Charles Choi） 2012年8月30日

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Credit: Adapted from K. G. Phillips et. al., Phys. Rev. Lett. (2012)

Guessing the number of jellybeans in a jar is tricky, but try guessing the weight of a cell just by looking at it (left). Scientists have now accomplished this feat using nothing more than a standard laboratory microscope and a digital camera. By analyzing how an object bends or refracts light (middle), image-processing algorithms can deduce its composition. Knowing an object's makeup allows one to infer its density (right), and because the microscope can also be used to measure an object's dimensions and volume, that data altogether enables researchers to calculate the cell’s mass. This technique, reported online this week in Physical Review Letters, found that human red blood cells have an average dry mass of 27.2 trillionths of a gram. This is in line with past measurements, which have typically relied on custom-built instruments. Researchers say the new approach could help monitor how live cells grow and change over time, such as in response to disease or environmental changes.

  猜对罐子里软糖的数量是困难的，但只看着它（左）而试图猜测一个细胞的重量也是极难的。科学家们，现在已有高超的技术，仅用一台标准的显微镜和一个数码相机，就完成了这一壮举。通过分析一个物体对光的曲射和折射情况（中）以及图像处理算法，可以推断出它的成分。知道了物体的成分，便可以推测它的密度（右），因为显微镜也可用于测量物体的量度和体积，把这些数据集合起来，就使研究人员可以计算细胞的质量。这种技术，本周在线报告于《物理评论快报》（Physical Review Letters），他们研究得出人的1 个红血细胞的平均干重为27.2万亿分之1克。这是与过去通常依赖定制仪器的测量值，相一致的。研究人员认为，这种新方法，可有助于监测活细胞是如何生长的，以及随着时间是如何变化的，例如，活细胞对疾病和环境变化的反应。