Cambridge alumnus Richard Henderson (Corpus Christi College, 1966) has been jointly awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, along with former Cambridge 探花直播 senior research associate Joachim Frank, and Jacques Dubochet from the 探花直播 of Lausanne, Switzerland.
Cambridge alumnus Richard Henderson (Corpus Christi College, 1966) has been jointly awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, along with former Cambridge 探花直播 senior research associate Joachim Frank, and Jacques Dubochet from the 探花直播 of Lausanne, Switzerland.
Henderson completed his PhD in 1970, carrying out his research under the supervision of听David Blow听at the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology, where he is currently based. He is an Emeritus Fellow of Darwin College and an Honorary Fellow of Corpus Christi.
Frank, now based at Columbia 探花直播, New York, USA, was a senior research associate听at Cambridge鈥檚 Cavendish Laboratory from 1973-1975.
探花直播three researchers have received the award "for developing听cryo-electron听microscopy for the high-resolution structure determination of听biomolecules听in solution". According to the Nobel Committee, this method 鈥渉as moved biochemistry into a new era鈥.
Professor Ben听Luisi,听from听Cambridge's听Department of听Biochemistry and who led听a听consortium to听establish a听cryo-electron听microscopy听facility at the 探花直播, said: " 探花直播award recognises and celebrates the development and wonderfully successful application of electron microscopy to visualise isolated biological molecules in sufficient detail to infer the relative positions of the constituent atoms or to find the locations of the molecules in large complexes within cells.
"This approach has tremendously expanded the range of biological samples that can be studied. It听has enabled deeper understanding of how biological molecules recognise each other to form complex organisations, how they make and break chemical bonds, how they work like motors, and how they communicate information through structural change.
" 探花直播methods have taken decades to develop and were driven and sustained by Richard's deep theoretical insights and vision. 探花直播molecular biology community has benefited tremendously from the work of Richard and his colleagues. 探花直播university has also benefited from Richard's generous help and advice to establish facilities here."
Dr Luca听Pellegrini, also听from the Department of听Biochemistry, said: "We鈥檙e delighted about the news that the 2017 Nobel prize in Chemistry was jointly awarded to Dr Richard Henderson of the MRC Laboratory听of Molecular Biology in Cambridge. 探花直播award听recognises听Dr Henderson鈥檚 long-standing interest in electron microscopy and its application to fundamental biological problems.
" 探花直播pioneering research carried out by Dr Henderson in the field of electron microscopy has听revolutionised听the structural investigation of biological specimens under native conditions, leading to a major breakthrough in our ability to obtain high-resolution images of macromolecular assemblies of biological and medical interest."
Professor Magdalena听Zernicka-Goetz, from the Department of听Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, said: 鈥淚 think it is wonderful.听A visual image is the essential component to understanding, often the first one to open our eyes, and so our minds, to a scientific breakthrough.鈥
This brings the total number of听affiliates of the 探花直播 of Cambridge who have been awarded听the Nobel Prize to 98.
Cool microscope technology revolutionises biochemistry
A picture is a key to understanding. Scientific breakthroughs often build upon the successful听visualisation听of objects invisible to the human eye. However, biochemical maps have long been filled with blank spaces because the available technology has had difficulty generating images of much of life鈥檚 molecular machinery.听Cryo-electron听microscopy changes all of this. Researchers can now freeze听biomolecules听mid-movement and听visualise听processes they have never previously seen, which is decisive for both the basic understanding of life鈥檚 chemistry and for the development of pharmaceuticals.
Electron microscopes were long believed to only be suitable for imaging dead matter, because the powerful electron beam destroys biological material. But in 1990, Richard Henderson succeeded in using an electron microscope to generate a three-dimensional image of a protein at atomic resolution. This breakthrough proved the technology鈥檚 potential.
Joachim Frank made the technology generally applicable. Between 1975 and 1986 he developed an image processing method in which the electron microscope鈥檚 fuzzy twodimensional images are analysed and merged to reveal a sharp three-dimensional structure.
Jacques听Dubochet听added water to electron microscopy. Liquid water evaporates in the electron microscope鈥檚 vacuum, which makes the听biomolecules听collapse. In the early 1980s,听Dubochet听succeeded in vitrifying water 鈥 he cooled water so rapidly that it solidified in its liquid form around a biological sample, allowing the听biomolecules听to retain their natural shape even in a vacuum.
Following these discoveries, the electron microscope鈥檚 every nut and bolt have been optimised. 探花直播desired atomic resolution was reached in 2013, and researchers can now routinely produce three-dimensional structures of听biomolecules. In the past few years, scientific literature has been filled with images of everything from proteins that cause antibiotic resistance, to the surface of the Zika virus. Biochemistry is now facing an explosive development and is all set for an exciting future.
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