Research & Development   Team creates MRI for the nanoscale Thu,
02/14/2013 - 11:59am  A tiny defect, called a nitrogen vacancy
(NV), inside a diamond enabled researchers to detect the
magnetic resonance of organic molecules in the same way an MRI
produces images of a tissue or an organ.Magnetic resonance
imaging (MRI) reveals details of living tissues, diseased organs
and tumors inside the body without x-rays or surgery. What if
the same technology could peer down to the level of atoms?
Doctors could make visual diagnoses of a person’s
molecules—examining damage on a strand of DNA, watching
molecules misfold, or identifying a cancer cell by the proteins
on its surface.   “It is bringing MRI to a level comparable to
an atomic force microscope,” said Meriles, referring to the
device that traces the contours of atoms or tugs on a molecule
to measure its strength. A nanoscale MRI could display how a
molecule moves without touching it.  “Standard MRI typically
gets to a resolution of 100 micrometers,” about the w