[Public domain] via Wikimedia CommonsMicroscopic technology has progressed remarkably since the late 1600s when scientists began using it more commonly to explore biological structures. Despite enabling us to visualize material at seemingly infinitesimal levels, microscopy does have its limits. Light-sheet microscopy, the state of the art, could visualize individual cells of a whole (small) embryo as it developed. The imaging provides either a continuous one-sided view or alternating views from two sides. Though it is possible to reconstruct the images into a three-dimensional image later, the microscopy technique could not provide a complete cell-level three-dimensional view of a whole embryo in real time—until now.
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