Superresolution microscopy work on endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in the peripheral areas of the cell showing details of the structure and arrangement in a complex web of tubes.
The ER is a continuous membrane that extends like a net from the envelope of the nucleus outward to the cell membrane. The ER plays several roles within the cell, such as in protein and lipid synthesis and transport of materials between organelles. The ER has a flexible structure to allow it to accomplish these tasks by changing shape as conditions in the cell change. Shown here an image created by super-resolution microscopy of the ER in the peripheral areas of the cell showing details of the structure and the arrangements in a complex web of tubes. Related to images 5856 and 5857.