![]() The development of cryo-electron microscopy: The final technical hurdle was overcome in 2013, when a new type of electron detector came into use. ![]() This has paved the way for both new basic insights into life’s chemistry and for the development of pharmaceuticals. By capturing snapshots of the same system at different time-points, scientists can even stitch together jittery film sequences of biological processes as they unfold. Last year the 3D structure of the enzyme producing the amyloid of Alzheimer’s disease was published using this technology. Speaking to journalists after the announcement, Frank said the practical uses for the technique were “immense” and meant medicine no longer focuses on organs but “looks at the processes in the cell”.Ĭryo-electron microscopy has allowed scientists to explore the architecture of everything from the proteins that cause antibiotic resistance to the surface of the Zika virus. His vitrification technique allowed biological samples to be frozen while retaining their natural shape. ![]() Dubochet, who is Swiss and an honorary professor at the University of Lausanne, pioneered a flash freezing method that turned the water inside cells into a glassy solid, rather than ice crystals which would damage the cellular structure. Joachim Frank, a German-born professor at Columbia University in New York, developed mathematical algorithms that allowed the method to be applied to a wider array of molecules. ![]() Henderson, a Scottish scientist and professor at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, was the first to successfully modify the electron microscope to image a protein involved in photosynthesis, by using a weaker beam and taking pictures from many angles. Another microscopic technique, the electron microscope, was only suitable for imaging dead matter, because its powerful beam destroyed delicate biological structures. The latest versions of the technology mean scientists can record biochemical processes as they unfold in film-like sequences.Įarlier imaging techniques, such as X-ray crystallography, required samples to be studied in a rigid state, revealing little about the dynamics of proteins and enzymes – many of which could not be successfully crystallised in any case. The technique, called cryo-electron microscopy, allowed biomolecules to be visualised in their natural configuration for the first time, triggering a “revolution in biochemistry”, according to the Nobel committee. ![]()
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