Electron Microscopy utilizes a beam of electrons to form an image of a sample. Electrons, however, have a much shorter wavelength than that of light, and can thus resolve much smaller objects. With the advent of flash-freezing samples to preserve their native biological structure -“Cryo-EM” as a technique was born. This enabled the three-dimensional structures of large proteins and viruses to be elucidated but took a quantum leap forward a decade ago with the introduction of direct electron detectors and new automation approaches. Today, Cryo-EM routinely enables the visualization of the near-atomic structures of proteins and macromolecular assemblies. This lecture will introduce the concepts behind Cryo-EM and give examples of biological structures that have been determined at Wash U.

Free and open to all, pre-registration required.