Editing Microscope (section)

===Fluorescence microscopes===

{{See also|fluorescence microscope|immunofluorescence|confocal microscope}}

[[File:Olympus-BX61-fluorescence microscope.jpg|thumb|upright|Fluorescence microscope with the filter cube turret above the objective lenses, coupled with a camera]]

The most recent developments in light microscope largely centre on the rise of [[fluorescence microscope|fluorescence microscopy]] in [[biology]].<ref name=":0" /> During the last decades of the 20th century, particularly in the post-[[genome|genomic]] era, many techniques for fluorescent [[staining]] of [[cell (biology)|cellular]] structures were developed.<ref name=":0" /> The main groups of techniques involve targeted chemical staining of particular cell structures, for example, the chemical compound [[DAPI]] to label [[DNA]], use of antibodies conjugated to fluorescent reporters, see
[[immunofluorescence]], and fluorescent proteins, such as [[green fluorescent protein]].<ref name=":1" /> These techniques use these different fluorophores for analysis of cell structure at a molecular level in both live and fixed samples.

The rise of fluorescence microscopy drove the development of a major modern microscope design, the [[confocal microscope]]. The principle was patented in 1957 by [[Marvin Minsky]], although [[laser]] technology limited practical application of the technique. It was not until 1978 when [[Thomas Cremer|Thomas]] and [[Christoph Cremer]] developed the first practical [[confocal laser scanning microscope]] and the technique rapidly gained popularity through the 1980s.