Americans Eric Betzig and William Moerner and German
scientist Stefan Hell won the Nobel Prize in chemistry on Wednesday for
developing new methods that let microscopes see finer details than they could
before.
The three scientists were cited for "the development of
super-resolved fluorescence microscopy," which the Royal Swedish Academy
of Sciences said had bypassed the maximum resolution of traditional optical
microscopes.
Stefan Hell
Stefan Hell at the opening of an exhibition in Munich,
Germany, in 2006 (Joerg Koch / Associated Press)
"Their groundbreaking work has brought optical
microscopy into the nanodimension," the academy said.
Tom Barton, president of the American Chemical Society, said
the winners "allowed us to see the previously unseen — lifting the veil on
bacteria, viruses, proteins and small molecules."
The field, now known as nanoscopy, allows scientist to peer
into cells and see their workings at a molecular level, the academy said in
announcing the prize. The method has helped researchers understand what goes on
in the tiny space between brain cells, and allowed them to witness how proteins
accumulate and contribute to Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and Huntington's
diseases, according to the academy.
This was made possible in two ways. Hell developed a method
in 2000 that uses two laser beams, one to stimulate fluorescent molecules,
another to cancel all but the tiniest wave lengths of that fluorescence, the
academy said. This allows researchers to isolate phenomena that occur on the
nanometer scale.
Betzig and Moerner separately made breakthroughs in turning
fluorescence of single molecules on and off, a process known as single-molecule
microscopy, the academy said. Betzig used the method for the first time in
2006, according to the academy.
Betzig, 54, works at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's
Janelia Research Campus in Ashburn, Va. Hell, 51, is director at the Max Planck
Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Goettingen, Germany. Moerner, 61, is a
professor at Stanford University.
Last year's chemistry prize went to three U.S.-based
scientists who developed powerful computer models that researchers use to
understand complex chemical interactions and create new drugs.
This year's Nobel announcements started Monday with
U.S.-British scientist John O'Keefe splitting the medicine award with Norwegian
couple May-Britt Moser and Edvard Moser for breakthroughs in brain cell
research that could pave the way for a better understanding of ailment such as
Alzheimer's disease.
On Tuesday, Isamu Akasaki and Hiroshi Amano of Japan and
Japanese-born U.S. scientist Shuji Nakamura won the physics award for the
invention of blue light-emitting diodes -- a breakthrough that spurred the
development of LED technology that can be used to light up homes and offices and
the screens of mobile phones, computers and TVs.
The Nobel Prize in literature is to be announced Thursday,
followed by the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday and the economics prize on Monday.
The prizes are always handed out in ceremonies on Dec. 10,
the date that prize founder Alfred Nobel died in 1896. A wealthy Swedish
industrialist who invented dynamite, Nobel wanted his awards to honor those who
"have conferred the greatest benefit to mankind," but gave only vague
instructions on how to select winners.
