The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2017: High-Resolution Cryo-Electron Microscopy

Abstract

The 2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to the following three pioneers: Dr. Joachim Frank, Dr. Jacques Dubochet, and Dr. Richard Henderson. They all contributed to the development of a Cryo-electron microscopy (EM) technique for determining the highresolution structures of biomolecules in solution, particularly without crystal and with much less amount of biomolecules than X-ray crystallography. In this brief commentary, we address the major advances made by these three Nobel laureates as well as the current status and future prospects of this Cryo-EM technique.