Stockholm – The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in chemistry 2017 to Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank and Richard Henderson. The three scientists were selected for their contribution towards bio-chemistry and developing cryo-electron microscopy for the high resolution structure determination of biomolecules in solution
This new microscope technology has enabled scientist to have detailed images of life’s complex machinery in atomic resolution. The technology both simplifies and improves the imaging of bimolecules and has moved biochemistry into a new bright era.
As they say, a picture is a key to understanding, and most of the scientific breakthroughs often build upon the successful visualization of objects. however, biochemical maps have long been filled with blank spaces because the available technology wasn’t sufficient to generate images of much of life’s molecular machinery.
The development of Cryo-electron microscopy changes all of this. The revolutionary technology enables the researchers to freeze biomolecules mid-movement and visualize processes. This breakthrough is decisive for both the basic understanding of life’s chemistry and for the development of pharmaceuticals.
All thanks to the Nobel Prize Laureates, biochemistry is now facing explosive development and is all set for an exciting future.
