Beyond the limit：super-resolution microscopy earned the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2014

Three physicists, Eric Betzig, Stefan Hell and William E. Moerner were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2014 for developing super-resolution optical microscopy. They pushed the techniques of their time to extremes to image single molecules, discovered the on/off switching behaviors of fluorescent molecules, and applied the well-known stimulated emission phenomenon to bypass a presumed scientific limitation stipulating that an optical microscope can never yield a resolution better than 200 nm. The new techniques will lead to a revolution in life science.Using them, scientists can now monitor the interplay between individual molecules inside cells and track cell division at the nano-level, to name but a few.