Ever since the first microscopes were developed in the sixteenth century, microscopy has played a pivotal role in our understanding of life. Early microscopes led to the discovery of cells, and provided an understanding of the origins diseases such as malaria and scabies. Today, microscopes are widely used in medical diagnostics and imaging and continue to drive fundamental discoveries, fuelled by developments such as super-resolution imaging and light-sheet microscopy. However, precision microscopes are reaching fundamental limits imposed by quantum mechanics – for example, their contrast is ultimately determined by the quantisation of light into photons. In this presentation, I will discuss how quantum tools, such as microscopes that use quantum correlated photons, and tools that reach quantum limits, can provide a new impetus for progress in microscopy. I will use examples from my laboratory, including stimulated Raman microscopy beyond the quantum limit [1], optical tweezers capable of resolving the ballistic motion of trapped particles and from this individual binding events to the cell membrane [2], and quantum-limited microscopes capable of imaging the rheological properties of living cells [3].  

[1] Casacio et al, Nature 594 201 (2021); Terrasson et al, Optics Express 32 36193-36206 (2024).

[2] Madsen et al, Nature Photonics 15 386–392 (2021).

[3] Mauranyapin et al, Nature Photonics 11 (8) 477-481(2017); Mauranyapin et al, arXiv:2507.07470 (2025).

* Satellite EMBO Seminar