What is Microscopy

What is Microscopy?

In the broadest sense, microscopy is a technical field which uses microscopes to study organisms and objects that cannot be seen by the unaided eye.

Over the past decades microscopy has become an invaluable tool in observing molecular changes at the subcellular level in order to make important discoveries across a range of life science disciplines. There are three main branches of microscopy techniques that scientists use in their research: optical, electron and scanning probe microscopy.


Microscopists are scientists who use microscopes to research the interactions of structures and properties of a wide variety of materials ranging from inanimate objects to living organisms.


Microscopes are the devises used to magnify small objects so that detail invisible to the unaided eye can be seen. Microscopes come in many different forms, from a simple handheld magnifying lens which is often used by enthusiasts, to multi-million-dollar complex instruments used by scientists. Modern microscopes use a wide range of techniques to produce a magnified image including, light, electrons, ions, x-rays and even mechanical probes.

The German BioImaging Society and Microscopy

The German BioImaging Society is an organisation of scientists and groups operating across the field of life sciences who use microscopy techniques and instruments for their research. We provide a platform for these scientists and professionals to share important information, techniques and discoveries as well as the possibility to facilitate the shared use of expensive microscopic instruments which are held in research laboratories called Core Imaging Facilities across Germany. In this way, the society aims to strengthen the infrastructure of scientific research instruments that are available to our members for their research purposes.