Abstract: Cellular imaging of the human anterior eye is critical for understanding complex ophthalmic diseases, yet current techniques are constrained by a limited field of view or insufficient contrast. Here, we demonstrate that Ernst Abbe’s foundational principles on the interference nature of transmission microscopy can be applied in vivo to the human eye to overcome these limitations. The transmission geometry in the eye is achieved by projecting illumination onto the posterior eye (sclera) and using the back-reflected light as a secondary illumination source for anterior eye structures. Specifically, we show that the tightly localized illumination spot at the sclera functions analogously to a closed condenser aperture in conventional microscopy, significantly enhancing interference contrast. This enables clear visualization of cells and nerves across all corneal layers within an extended 2 mm field of view. Notably, the crystalline lens epithelial cells, fibers, and sutures are also distinctly resolved. In patients, Fuch’s endothelial dystrophy - a major ophthalmic disease affecting 300 million people - is highlighted under a transmission contrast, providing complementary information to traditional reflection contrast. Constructed using consumer-grade cameras, the instrument offers a path toward broad adoption for pre-screening and surgical follow-up, as well as for diagnosing corneal infections in low-resource settings, where anterior eye diseases are most prevalent.

Abstract: Achieving low-latency time-reversal of broadband radiofrequency signals is crucial for reliable communications in dynamic, uncontrolled environments. However, existing approaches are either digitally assisted—making broadband extension challenging—or limited to amplitude modulation. In this work, we report the very first, to our knowledge, experimental realization of a fully analog, phase-preserving time-reversal architecture for optically carried radiofrequency signals. The method exploits the exceptional coherence properties of rare-earth ion-doped materials and leverages the well-established photon echo mechanism, widely used in quantum technologies. While our demonstration is conducted with a modest bandwidth, we identify the fundamental cause of this limitation and propose solutions for future scalability.

Abstract: The analysis of live-cell single-molecule imaging experiments can reveal valuable information about the heterogeneity of transport processes and interactions between cell components. These characteristics are seen as motion changes in the particle trajectories. Despite the existence of multiple approaches to carry out this type of analysis, no objective assessment of these methods has been performed so far. Here, we report the results of a competition to characterize and rank the performance of these methods when analyzing the dynamic behavior of single molecules. To run this competition, we implemented a software library that simulates realistic data corresponding to widespread diffusion and interaction models, both in the form of trajectories and videos obtained in typical experimental conditions. The competition constitutes the first assessment of these methods, providing insights into the current limitations of the field, fostering the development of new approaches, and guiding researchers to identify optimal tools for analyzing their experiments.