Laser improves the time resolution of CryoEM

Scientists have devised a new method that can speed up the real-time observation capabilities of cryo-electron microscopy. In 2017, Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank, and Richard Henderson won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their contributions to cryo-electron microscopy (cryoEM), an imaging technique that can capture pictures of biomolecules such as proteins with atomic precision. In cryoEM, samples are embedded in vitreous ice, a glass-like form of ice that is obtained when water is frozen so rapidly that crystallization cannot occur. With the sample vitrified, high-resolution pictures of their molecular structure can be taken with an electron microscope, an instrument that forms images using a beam of electrons instead of light. CryoEM has opened up new dimensions in life sciences, chemistry, and medicine. For example, it was recently used to map the structure of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, which is the target of many of the COVID-19 vaccines. Proteins constantly change their 3D structure in the cell.