The resolution revolution: UK scientists buoyed by tech breakthrough

13:01

A breakthrough in visualization technology could help scientists accelerate the speed at which they develop new drugs and treatments to fight serious diseases.

Cryogenic Electron Microscopy, a technique for imaging biological molecules, enables experts to view the biological structures of a virus in microscopic detail.

Recent advances in this technology have broken resolution records and mean scientists can for the first time view individual atoms that make up proteins.

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This could give them a clearer view of the structures of viruses and where exactly they can begin to target them with drugs or other treatments.

The technology was recently used during the fight against Zika virus as researchers generated a high-resolution 3D image of the virus's structure within just a few months.

Frankie McCamley visited the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, UK to find out more about the resolution revolution.