Nobel Laureate Frank Discusses COVID-19 Hero: Cryo-Electron Microscopy Aids in Pandemic Fight
Nobel laureate Joachim Frank delivered a lecture at National Taiwan University, highlighting the critical role of cryo-electron microscopy during the COVID-19 pandemic in vaccine development and neutralizing antibody screening, establishing it as a core tool in modern drug development.
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TAIPEI (Central News Agency) - Joachim Frank, one of the recipients of the 2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, delivered a lecture at National Taiwan University, sharing how cryo-electron microscopy played a crucial role during the COVID-19 pandemic. He emphasized its decisive impact on vaccine development and neutralizing antibody screening, and its emergence as a core tool in modern drug development.
National Taiwan University today issued a press release stating that Joachim Frank, the 2017 Nobel laureate in Chemistry, was invited by NTU's 'Mr. Sung Kung-Yuan Distinguished Research Lecture,' Academia Sinica, and several universities in collaboration with the World Peace Foundation to promote the 'Taiwan Bridge Project.' On May 6, he delivered a lecture at NTU titled 'Cryo-Electron Microscopy Technology: A New Foundation for Molecular Medicine and Drug Design.'
As a pioneer in high-resolution applications of cryo-electron microscopy, Frank stated that this technology was one of the heroes in the fight against COVID-19 (2019 novel coronavirus disease). At the critical juncture of the pandemic's outbreak, cryo-electron microscopy demonstrated a speed unattainable by X-rays, allowing scientists to directly observe the structure of 'spike proteins' in a very short time. This played a decisive role in vaccine development and neutralizing antibody screening.
During the lecture, Frank also elaborated on how cryo-electron microscopy technology transitioned from basic research to the front lines, becoming a key weapon against cancer, heart disease, and COVID-19.
He mentioned that the essence of modern medicine is 'molecular medicine.' Early structural biology often involved isolating molecules in vitro and designing drugs by studying their structures. However, molecules within cells perform various physiological functions dynamically. To understand these complex molecular operations, scientists need powerful tools that can capture every frame of motion.
After earning his Ph.D. in Germany and conducting postdoctoral research in the United States, Frank was inspired at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at Caltech. There, he developed Spider, a key image processing technique for cryo-electron microscopy. Spider can computationally reconstruct thousands of disordered, two-dimensional protein projection images captured by electron microscopes into precise three-dimensional models.
Frank explained that this breakthrough broke traditional constraints and overcame the challenge of biological samples being easily damaged by electron beam irradiation. Cryo-electron microscopy technology allows researchers to observe the dynamic changes of proteins in a near-natural physiological state, providing unprecedented visual evidence for ribosome operation mechanisms, viral infection pathways, and drug target design.
Frank noted that with cryo-electron microscopy, scientists can clearly observe how small molecule drugs bind to cancer protein targets, offering structural solutions for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Today, cryo-electron microscopy has become an indispensable core tool in modern drug development and life science research, and a significant contributor to the fight against cancer, heart disease, and pandemics. (Edited by Kuan-Chung Wei) 1150507
National Taiwan University today issued a press release stating that Joachim Frank, the 2017 Nobel laureate in Chemistry, was invited by NTU's 'Mr. Sung Kung-Yuan Distinguished Research Lecture,' Academia Sinica, and several universities in collaboration with the World Peace Foundation to promote the 'Taiwan Bridge Project.' On May 6, he delivered a lecture at NTU titled 'Cryo-Electron Microscopy Technology: A New Foundation for Molecular Medicine and Drug Design.'
As a pioneer in high-resolution applications of cryo-electron microscopy, Frank stated that this technology was one of the heroes in the fight against COVID-19 (2019 novel coronavirus disease). At the critical juncture of the pandemic's outbreak, cryo-electron microscopy demonstrated a speed unattainable by X-rays, allowing scientists to directly observe the structure of 'spike proteins' in a very short time. This played a decisive role in vaccine development and neutralizing antibody screening.
During the lecture, Frank also elaborated on how cryo-electron microscopy technology transitioned from basic research to the front lines, becoming a key weapon against cancer, heart disease, and COVID-19.
He mentioned that the essence of modern medicine is 'molecular medicine.' Early structural biology often involved isolating molecules in vitro and designing drugs by studying their structures. However, molecules within cells perform various physiological functions dynamically. To understand these complex molecular operations, scientists need powerful tools that can capture every frame of motion.
After earning his Ph.D. in Germany and conducting postdoctoral research in the United States, Frank was inspired at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at Caltech. There, he developed Spider, a key image processing technique for cryo-electron microscopy. Spider can computationally reconstruct thousands of disordered, two-dimensional protein projection images captured by electron microscopes into precise three-dimensional models.
Frank explained that this breakthrough broke traditional constraints and overcame the challenge of biological samples being easily damaged by electron beam irradiation. Cryo-electron microscopy technology allows researchers to observe the dynamic changes of proteins in a near-natural physiological state, providing unprecedented visual evidence for ribosome operation mechanisms, viral infection pathways, and drug target design.
Frank noted that with cryo-electron microscopy, scientists can clearly observe how small molecule drugs bind to cancer protein targets, offering structural solutions for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Today, cryo-electron microscopy has become an indispensable core tool in modern drug development and life science research, and a significant contributor to the fight against cancer, heart disease, and pandemics. (Edited by Kuan-Chung Wei) 1150507