VIRTUAL REALITY

You can now explore human cells using Virtual Reality

Scientists have taken a virtual walk through a brain cell using a software, called vLUME, and a VR headset

Virtual Reality (VR) can provide you an immersive experience of places where it is not possible for us to be physically present and the futuristic technology can provide some promising applications and today’s research is one of them. Although VR headsets have not really taken off among the masses — too bulky, too expensive, or simply a lack of compatibility — whatever the reason, this health tech application shows they can be useful.

Scientists at the University of Cambridge, in collaboration with the 3D image analysis software company Lume VR, have developed a software called vLUME, which utilizes super-resolution microscopy data to be visualized and analyzed in virtual reality — be it individual proteins to entire cells.

With the super-resolution microscopy technique, it is possible to obtain nanoscale images, overcoming the limits imposed by light diffraction (that restricts the optical resolution to roughly 250 nm). This revolutionary tech received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2014. However, one problem still remained was a lack of ways to visualize and analyze this…