Using non-destructive imaging of living tissue in Arabidopsis plants, a team of researchers led by Cara M. Winter at Duke University in North Carolina has captured unprecedented details about how root growth occurs in real-time at the fundamental level of stem cells. These special cells give rise to all tissue types by “differentiating” into the specific kinds of cells comprising organs and other anatomical structures. Researchers have sought to understand how cellular differentiation works in nature to better grasp cell division as a whole and its role in certain diseases, such as cancer, that are caused by cells dividing out of control. See also: Cell (biology); Histology; Plant growth; Stem cell