From left to right: Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank, and Richard Henderson.
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and analyzed. Although cryo-EM has existed since the 1970s, more recent improvements allow direct reconstruction of the images in 3D. This new technique is rapidly replacing X-ray crystallography, a method that fires X-rays at crystallized proteins. In X-ray crystallography, some biomolecules interact with the high energy radiation, which in turn prevents the formation of large enough crystals needed to study their lattice structure. However, Cryo2018 EM allows for direct imaging of biomolecules without needing crystallization of the samples. The high-resolution pictures can illustrate a cell’s machinery in great detail or reveal where to best target a disease-carrying molecule with drugs. The work of Dubochet, Frank, and Henderson on cryo-electron microscopy will revolutionize structural biology and change the lives of future generations.
This experimental confirmation led the Nobel Academy to award Weiss, Barish, and Thorne the Nobel Prize in Physics two years after the LIGO data was interpreted and verified. LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) is not a typical observatory. Since gravitational waves are not part of the electromagnetic spectrum (such as visible light, x-rays, radio waves, etc.), LIGO does not use telescope mirrors or radio dishes that normally adorn traditional observatories. Instead, it has two, four-kilometer-long vacuum tubes placed in an L-shape that ‘feel’ and ‘hear’ the gravitational waves when they interact with a long metal bar. These long vacuum tubes are called interferometers--instruments that create an interference pattern from multiple light sources or lasers. The farther the lasers are projected, the more sensitive the interferometers become, allowing LIGO to detect the very faint gravitational waves. The work of Weiss, Barish, and Thorne on LIGO has opened up a new chapter in astrophysics by enabling scientists to ‘hear’ the universe through a whole new type of waves rather than simply ‘seeing’ it by capturing electromagnetic waves; it has opened a new window into the universe that can be used to explore spacetime.
Clockwise from top-left: Weiss, Barish, and Thorne.
Physics On October 3, 2017, the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Rainer Weiss, Barry C. Barish, and Kip S. Thorne for their contributions to the LIGO detector, the largest gravitational wave observatory in the world, and for the first detection of gravitational waves ever. First of all, what is a gravitational wave? Gravitational waves are minute spacetime ripples, or distortions in space, caused by accelerating objects. These waves travel at the speed of light and are virtually undisturbed by low energy obstacles. Albert Einstein was the first to predict the existence of these phenomena: he calculated that when massive, accelerating objects such as neutron stars and black holes orbit each other, they could create disruptions in spacetime and send gravitational waves. These very faint signals give scientists crucial information about the origins of the collision and the nature of gravity. Because they are so feeble, gravitational waves are very hard to detect; the strongest waves come from the collision of black holes, the collapse of supernova stars, and the remnants from the birth of our universe. For this reason, gravitational waves were until recently considered only from the theoretical point of view. However, on September 14, 2015, the LIGO experiment detected gravitational waves emanating from two black holes that collided 1.3 billion light years ago. The magnitude of this accomplishment is monumental; for perspective, the gravitational wave signal from this collision was emitted when multi-celled organisms were just beginning to form on Earth. Furthermore, the confirmation of the existence of gravitational waves opens a whole new way to investigate highly energetic phenomena in the universe.
Image Credit: Flicker @ junaidrao; Flickr @ Bengt Nyman; Flickr @ Penn State; Flickr @ Konstantin Malanchev