冷冻电镜:在原子尺度上观察生命

Electron cryo-microscopy:observing life at the atomic level

2017年的诺贝尔化学奖授予了3位冷冻电子显微学家,以表彰他们在冷冻电子显微镜技术上的奠基性工作,使直接观察溶液中处于生理或者接近生理状态的生物结构成为可能。获奖者都是具有物理学背景的生物学家,他们的获奖不但将冷冻电子显微带入了大众的视野,更体现了生物与物理,甚至与数学和计算机技术的多学科融合所带来的技术突破。文章将从多个方面来介绍冷冻电镜技术,展示科学家们是如何将对生命过程的观察放大到原子水平上的。

Three electron microscopists were awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize in chemistry for their ftmdamcntal works and contributions in developing electron cryo-microscopy （cryoEM） technologies tbr determining the atomic structures of biological macromolecules in solution. All three laureates have a background in physics but win the prize for chemistry, which shows the importance of intcrdisciplinary rcscarches involving biology, physics, mathematics and computer sciences. This review gives a brief review of the development of cryoEM, and explains how it can be used to observe life at the atomic level.