Microscopes are powerful enough to see the smallest of organisms that our naked eyes are not able to see. They are used to examine and understand the behaviors of microorganisms in order to determine the possibilities and degree of infections as well as medications that such microorganisms can develop. Microscopes however have different levels of magnification and uses, based on their structures, compositions and designs. There are microscopes that use electrons to illuminate and create an image of a specimen such as electron microscopes, while others use x-ray beams such as x-ray microscopes to produce these images.
This particular article deals with the use of an x-ray microscope in viewing and studying malaria-infected cells. Scientists experimented on the possible reactions of skin cancer cells and the malaria-infected cells. The powerful x-ray microscope does not only permit the viewing of the structure of the sliced tissues but also allows the observation of unsliced cells. No matter how thick the cells can be, the x-ray microscope is able to provide high-resolution images and good presentations of cell structures. Not all types of microscopes has the capability of doing such. Furthermore, the x-ray microscope permits analysis of the subcellular components of the tissues or cells by just directly monitoring them through it.
The experts and the researchers of this study used the skin cancer cells to examine its reaction to the malaria-infected cells in order to understand the growth and development of malaria infection to humans. They used the skin cancer cells as a substitute for a normal skin cell because the surface of the skin cancer cells are similar to those of endothelium or the inside portion of the skin in the blood vessels and such skin cancer cells are easy to grow and maintain. They have observed that after several days of growth, the malaria-infected blood cells, which are incubated on top of the skin cancer cells, binds to the specialized receptors on the skin cancer cell surface. It allows the researchers to study the interaction between the malaria-infected cells and the skin cancer cells receptors. With the help of the x-ray microscope, monitoring such developments have been easier since they need not do preparations such as dehydrating the tissue first, then slicing them in order to be observed under the microscope. They can see through the x-ray microscope, the components, reactions and interactions of the cells. By taking the images of the malaria-infected cells, the researchers are doing analyses on their behaviors, qualities or characteristics so as to know what makes such infected cells stick to the blood vessels, which causes the disease, and in the hope that the recent studies may finally find the cure of this disease.
Researches like these should be encouraged in order to determine the origin of diseases, its possible effects, and the threats it poses to other living things. Only through these experiments that vaccines can be discovered to be able to cure those that are infected by a particular disease. Despite of recent advancements, there are still a multitude of diseases that are incurable, such as the malaria, which had been proliferating since the civil wars. No cure has yet been discovered and made for these diseases and it can only be controlled by some medications. Additionally, the possibility of its recurrence to an infected individual is still too high to be considered a solution.
