Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Cryo-electron Microscopy01:28

Cryo-electron Microscopy

3.7K
Conventional electron microscopy (EM) involves dehydration, fixation, and staining of biological samples, which distorts the native state of biological molecules and results in several artifacts. Also, the high-energy electron beam damages the sample and makes it difficult to obtain high-resolution images. These issues can be addressed using cryo-EM, which uses frozen samples and gentler electron beams. The technique was developed by Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank, and Richard Henderson, for...
3.7K
Electron Microscope Tomography and Single-particle Reconstruction01:07

Electron Microscope Tomography and Single-particle Reconstruction

2.6K
Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) can be used to determine the 3D structure of biological samples with the help of techniques such as electron microscope tomography and single-particle reconstruction. While single-particle reconstruction can examine macromolecules and macromolecular complexes in vitro conditions only, tomography permits the study of cell components or small cells in vivo.
Electron Tomography
Electron tomography can be performed either in TEM or STEM (scanning transmission...
2.6K
Overview of Electron Microscopy01:25

Overview of Electron Microscopy

11.6K
The wavelengths of visible light ultimately limit the maximum theoretical resolution of images created by light microscopes. Most light microscopes can only magnify 1000X, and a few can magnify up to 1500X. Electrons, like electromagnetic radiation, can behave like waves, but with wavelengths of 0.005 nm, they produce significantly greater resolution up to 0.05 nm as compared to 500 nm for visible light. An electron microscope (EM) can create a sharp image that is magnified up to 2,000,000X.
11.6K
Transmission Electron Microscopy01:15

Transmission Electron Microscopy

6.0K
In 1931, physicist Ernst Ruska—building on the idea that magnetic fields can direct an electron beam just as lenses can direct a beam of light in an optical microscope—developed the first prototype of the electron microscope. This development led to the development of the field of electron microscopy. In the transmission electron microscope (TEM), electrons are produced by a hot tungsten element and accelerated by a potential difference in an electron gun, which gives them up to 400...
6.0K
Overview of Microscopy Techniques01:22

Overview of Microscopy Techniques

13.5K
The early pioneers of microscopy opened a window into the invisible world of microorganisms. In 1830, Joseph Jackson Lister created an essentially modern light microscope. The 20th century saw the development of microscopes that leveraged nonvisible light, such as fluorescence microscopy that uses an ultraviolet light source and electron microscopy that uses short-wavelength electron beams. These advances significantly improved magnification, image resolution, and contrast. By comparison, the...
13.5K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Structural insights into the assembly mechanism of the molecular bushing in the bacterial flagellar motor.

Communications biology·2026
Same author

Chloroplast genome editing of Rubisco boosts photosynthesis and plant growth.

Nature communications·2026
Same author

Active removal of inhibitory components drives the flagellar type 3 secretion-specificity switch.

mBio·2026
Same author

Uncoupling substrate delivery from export gate activation reveals distinct roles of the flagellar ATPase complex.

Frontiers in microbiology·2026
Same author

Structural Mechanism of Receptor-Triggered MyD88 Oligomeric Assembly in Innate Immune Signaling.

Nature communications·2026
Same author

Active removal of inhibitory components drives the flagellar Type III Secretion Specificity Switch.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 30, 2025

Manual Blot-and-Plunge Freezing of Biological Specimens for Single-Particle Cryogenic Electron Microscopy
09:16

Manual Blot-and-Plunge Freezing of Biological Specimens for Single-Particle Cryogenic Electron Microscopy

Published on: February 7, 2022

6.6K

Recent progress and future perspective of electron cryomicroscopy for structural life sciences.

Keiichi Namba1,2,3, Fumiaki Makino1,4

  • 1Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, 1-3 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.

Microscopy (Oxford, England)
|March 11, 2022
PubMed
Summary

Electron cryomicroscopy now determines high-resolution structures of biological macromolecules, like proteins, aiding life and medical sciences. This powerful technique offers atomic-level insights from small samples rapidly.

Keywords:
electron microscopyhigh-resolution structurehigh-throughput data collectionmacromolecular structuresingle-particle image analysisstructural biology

More Related Videos

Preparation and Cryo-FIB micromachining of Saccharomyces cerevisiae for Cryo-Electron Tomography
09:06

Preparation and Cryo-FIB micromachining of Saccharomyces cerevisiae for Cryo-Electron Tomography

Published on: November 20, 2021

4.6K
Cryo-Electron Tomography Remote Data Collection and Subtomogram Averaging
08:55

Cryo-Electron Tomography Remote Data Collection and Subtomogram Averaging

Published on: July 12, 2022

5.2K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Sep 30, 2025

Manual Blot-and-Plunge Freezing of Biological Specimens for Single-Particle Cryogenic Electron Microscopy
09:16

Manual Blot-and-Plunge Freezing of Biological Specimens for Single-Particle Cryogenic Electron Microscopy

Published on: February 7, 2022

6.6K
Preparation and Cryo-FIB micromachining of Saccharomyces cerevisiae for Cryo-Electron Tomography
09:06

Preparation and Cryo-FIB micromachining of Saccharomyces cerevisiae for Cryo-Electron Tomography

Published on: November 20, 2021

4.6K
Cryo-Electron Tomography Remote Data Collection and Subtomogram Averaging
08:55

Cryo-Electron Tomography Remote Data Collection and Subtomogram Averaging

Published on: July 12, 2022

5.2K

Area of Science:

  • Structural Biology
  • Biophysics
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • Macromolecular structure is crucial for life sciences, medical research, and drug design.
  • X-ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy are established structural biology techniques.
  • Electron cryomicroscopy (Cryo-EM) has emerged as a powerful complementary method.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To describe recent advancements in electron cryomicroscopy for structural biology.
  • To discuss the future perspectives of Cryo-EM in life sciences.
  • To address the challenges of imaging radiation-sensitive macromolecules at atomic resolution.

Main Methods:

  • Utilizing advanced transmission electron cryomicroscopes with improved electron optics and filters.
  • Employing high-speed, high-sensitivity CMOS-based direct electron detectors.
  • Leveraging high-performance computing and sophisticated image analysis software.

Main Results:

  • Cryo-EM enables atomic-level structure determination of biological macromolecules.
  • High-resolution structures can be obtained within days from microgram quantities of sample.
  • The technique allows imaging in near-native states despite radiation sensitivity.

Conclusions:

  • Electron cryomicroscopy is revolutionizing structural biology.
  • Advancements in hardware and software have significantly enhanced Cryo-EM capabilities.
  • Cryo-EM provides unprecedented insights into macromolecular structures for diverse scientific applications.