Nature Methods has named Cryo-EM as Method of the Year, 2015

Gatan would like to congratulate all of the scientists and researchers whose hard work has contributed to Nature Methods declaring cryo-EM as the 2015 Method of the Year. We are proud to be a part of the community and are also pleased that the K2 Summit^® direct detection camera and the GIF Quantum^® LS imaging filter from Gatan have been a part of the tremendous technological improvement in cryo-EM.

Cryo-EM is an increasingly popular technique used by structural biologists to solve structures at atomic resolution. This technique complements x-ray crystallography because it reveals structural details without the need for a crystalline specimen. Through the examination of a frozen-hydrated specimen in vitreous (non-crystalline) ice, the specimen ultrastructure, buffer and ligand distribution from its native state are maintained. Cryo-EM also complements structural studies using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) in that it enables the study of specimens larger than 150 kDa. Structural biologists frequently use cryo-EM to study viruses, small organelles, and macromolecular biological complexes, as well as molecular interactions in supramolecular assemblies or machines. To learn more about the technique, please visit our Cryo-EM technique page.

Articles highlighting Gatan products and the power of cryo-EM

• How good can cryo-EM become?
• The field that came in from the cold

Landmark publications from 2015

• 2.2 Å resolution cryo-EM structure of β-galactosidase in complex with a cell-permeant inhibitor, 10.1126/science.aab1576.
• Atomic structure of anthrax protective antigen pore elucidates tozin translocation, 10.1038/nature14247
• 2.8 Å resolution reconstruction of the Thermoplasma acidophilum 20 S proteasome using cryo-electron microscopy, 10.7554/eLife.06380

Press releases

• K2 Summit camera enables scientists to generate the first atomic model of an intact, functional spliceosome using cryo-electron microscopy
• The resolution revolution continues: GIF Quantum LS imaging filter with K2 Summit camera enables scientists to reach 2.2 Å using cryo-electron microscopy
• K2 Summit camera enables scientists to break the 3 Å barrier in structural biology using cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM)