University of Illinois researchers are giving a light answer to the heavy question of cell growth. Led by electrical and computer engineering professor Gabriel Popescu, the research team developed a new imaging method called spatial light interference microscopy (SLIM) that can measure cell mass using two beams of light. Described in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, the SLIM technique offers new insight into the much-debated problem of whether cells grow at a constant rate or exponentially.
