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Health & Science4h 9m ago

Researchers from Science Tokyo developed a new fluorescent reporter called LiON, capable of visualizing biologically active iron and oxygen inside living cells at single-cell resolution, revealing striking differences in their distribution across organs and between neighboring cells.

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Tokyo, Japan

Who
Professor Toshiro Moroishi, Ayato Maeda, researchers from Science Tokyo
What
Researchers from Science Tokyo developed a new fluorescent reporter called LiON, capable of visualizing biologically active iron and oxygen inside living cells at single-cell resolution, revealing striking differences in their distribution across organs and between neighboring cells.
When
Tue, 16 Jun 2026 19:30:01 GMT · 4h 9m ago
Where
Tokyo, Japan ·
Why
The existing methods for detecting iron required fixed tissue samples or couldn't zoom to single-cell resolution, and most measured total iron without distinguishing active from inactive forms; scientists needed a way to observe individual cell iron and oxygen environments directly.
The Frontline Impact

How this affects you

This innovation provides a novel tool for studying various diseases like cancer, liver diseases, neurodegeneration, and aging by allowing real-time, single-cell visualization of iron and oxygen, potentially leading to new therapeutic strategies and a deeper understanding of cellular health.

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