High resolution microscopic imaging with X-rays: technology and application to the biological sciences

Ever since the invention of the visible light microscope, there has been a quest for ever sharper views of microscopic biological structure. Even before the advent of electron microscopy, it was recognized that the short wavelengths of X-rays could in principle allow high resolution imaging. But only in the last decade or so have technological advances made the original promise of biological X-ray microscopy realizable. These advances include the development of sources, optics, and detectors for the low energy X-rays (“soft” X-rays) best suited for imaging cellular structure