The 2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank and Richard Henderson for their contributions to the development of cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) in determining the solution structures of biomolecular assemblies. In this article, we briefly introduce the history of cryo-EM and comment on the essential roles these three scientists have played in realizing this cutting-edge technique. We also present a summary of recent research breakthroughs that were made by Chinese scientists.

cryo-electron microscopy  /  2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry  /  structure of macromolecules