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Pflugers Arch - Eur J Physiol (2013) 465:345346 DOI 10.1007/s00424-013-1242-z
EDITORIAL
Cell and molecular dynamics: visualizing, measuring, and manipulating the chemistry of life
Denise J. Montell
Received: 4 February 2013 /Revised: 4 February 2013 /Accepted: 4 February 2013 /Published online: 17 February 2013 # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013
Whereas the twentieth century was the era of genes and genetics, the twenty first promises to be the epoch of cellular and molecular dynamics. The last century witnessed the discovery of the structure of DNA, solved long-standing biological problems via large-scale genetic screens, revealed the genetic causes of numerous diseases, and culminated in the complete human genome sequence. As powerful as genetic approaches have been and continue to be, they provide a static view of biology that is at best incomplete because life is dynamic.
Innumerable chemical reactions occur in each living cell every second and yet rarely do we get a glimpse of these dynamics. What we know about the biochemical lives of cells comes predominantly from studies of purified or partially purified components in test tubes. While clearly valuable, these studies divorce the components from their native environments, so critical information is lost, such as where in the cell the reaction occurs. A more complete and accurate understanding of the chemistry of living systems requires the ability to observe and manipulate biochemical events as they actually occur in living cells, tissues, and organisms. This field is in a rapid growth phase, and the goal of this special issue is to provide a snapshot of the state of the art, identify current challenges, and anticipate what the future might hold.
Conceptual advances frequently follow technical advances and nowhere is that more evident than in the field of
cellular and molecular dynamics. Improvements in microscopy, together with an ever-expanding palette of fluorescent proteins and small molecules, are allowing investigators to develop optical reporters of, and tools for manipulating, specific biochemical reactions in living cells. The article by Terai and Nagano reviews the history of fluorescence as a tool in biology, the development of the first Ca2+
indicators, which marked the beginning of a...