Cryo electron microscopy is booming, with new atomic structures appearing every week and new facilities being installed at research centers across the globe. This unprecedented growth has been stimulated by the availability of new imaging detectors that dramatically increase the acuity of images, but also reflects advances in electron microscopes and image analysis software. These technologies are being employed for two main applications, known as single-particle analysis and tomography, which can be used to produce structures of a wide range of biomolecular assemblies, from isolated molecules to cells and tissues. This Biophysics 101 session discusses both the technologies and the applications to provide insight into why cryo-EM has become such a powerful and essential tool in structural biology.

Presenters:
David DeRosier, Brandeis University
Esther Bullitt, Boston University School of Medicine