New Imaging Technique Catches DNA ‘Blinking’ On

"DNA and proteins don’t naturally give off light, conventional wisdom holds, so scientists have developed fluorescent dyes to attach to such molecules to make them visible in the darkness of a cell (SN: 6/5/13, p. 20). But Backman and Hao Zhang, both of Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., discovered that when DNA is tickled with particular wavelengths of light, it 'blinks' on, momentarily shining brighter than it would with the most powerful fluorescent tags."