Resolution Revolution—Seeing the Molecules of Life With Electron Cryomicroscopy

Abstract

This article is based on an interview between the two authors.Structural biology is a field that seeks to find the structures of all the components that make up living things—from molecules that exist in humans and other animals, through molecules present in tiny microorganisms, to the molecules that make up plants. To determine these structures, structural biologists use sophisticated imaging techniques that are becoming more and more accurate at “seeing”, or determining the structure of smaller and more diverse molecules. Electron cryomicroscopy is one very advanced and powerful imaging technique. In this technique, electrons are sent through frozen specimens to determine the structures of single molecules, at magnifications that are enough to see atoms. These images are taking us one step further toward understanding the structure and function of the basic building blocks of life. In this article, we will tell you about the developments that led to what is called “the resolution revolution” in electron cryomicroscopy, which Dr. Henderson was part of and that eventually allowed him to share the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2017.