Researchers have released what is possibly the most complex, time-lapse video of a functioning cell.

The cell, taken from the kidney of an African green monkey, was analyzed with dyes, fluorescent proteins and a laser scanning microscope.

The video shows the movement of fat droplets throughout the cell, and is color coded to indicate which oraganelles - the subunits of cells - are which.

To make the video, the researchers tagged the cells' different organelles with proteins that glow different colors in light.

They tracked 6 different organelles, which are color coded in the video: Lysosomes (cyan), mitochondria (green), endoplasmic reticulum (yellow), peroxisomes (red), Golgi apparatus (magenta) and Lipid (fat) droplets (blue).

Each one of these organelles performs a specific function in the cell - for example, lysosomes and peroxisomes break down molecules, the endoplasmic reticulum, which manufactures proteins and other molecules, and the Golgi apparatus packages these molecules.

The researchers, who published their study in the journal Nature, used a special microscope called a laser scanning confocal microscope which can reconstruct 3-D structures from sets of images obtained at different depth sections within a thick object.

The researchers tracked 6 different organelles - the subunits of cells - which are color coded in the video: Lysosomes (cyan), mitochondria (green), endoplasmic reticulum (yellow), peroxisomes (red), Golgi apparatus (magenta) and Lipid (fat) droplets (blue)

While other types of microscopes have been used to make videos of cells functioning, Dr Sarah Cohen, a researcher at the National Institutes of Health and a co-lead author of the study, told Gizmodo: 'This is the first time we’re doing this many compartments in live cells.'

Dispersion analysis of each organelle in the cell. The endoplasmic reticulum (highlighted in yellow) dispersed the most within the cell, and lysosomes (highlighted in magenta) dispersed the least

The video reveals how each organelle is distributed and dispersed throughout the cell.

For example, the organelle that disperses the most within the cell is the endoplasmic reticulum, which is spread out throughout the cell like a mesh.

According to Dr Sang-Hee Shim, a chemistry professor at Korea University who wrote a commentary about the research, the researchers' 'breakthrough opens up wide-ranging opportunities for exploring the molecular mechanisms that underpin the organelle community's dance.'

However, there are some potential limitations to this 'breakthrough' method.

Images of a kidney cell from an African green monkey. Different organelles were tagged with proteins that glow a specific color under light. Lysosomes were tracked with a cyan dye, mitochondria in green, the endoplasmic reticulum in yellow, peroxisomes in red, the Golgi apparatus in magenta and Lipid (fat) droplets in blue. Pictured right is an image of all these organelles together and color coded

For example, too much time under the microscope can harm cells, and the resolution of this technique isn't as high as other more invasive methods, so it doesn't show finer details.

Despite these drawbacks, this method will help scientists understand how cells work and how molecules move around inside of it, which could be useful for designing personalized medicines.