A technique used in biology and chemistry where radioactive substances create images of themselves on photographic film or detection plates without needing external imaging equipment.
From 'auto-' (self), 'radio' (radiation), and '-graphy' (process of recording or writing). This revolutionary technique emerged in the 1920s-30s and became essential to molecular biology by the mid-20th century.
Autoradiography is how scientists figured out which cells were absorbing glucose, amino acids, or other nutrients by tagging them with radioactive elements—the radioactivity essentially drew a map of what the cells were eating.
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