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美德3名科學(xué)家同獲諾貝爾化學(xué)獎(jiǎng)
兩位美國(guó)科學(xué)家和一位德國(guó)科學(xué)家三人同獲今年的諾貝爾化學(xué)獎(jiǎng),，他們的工作實(shí)質(zhì)上繞過(guò)了物理學(xué)的一條基本定律，讓光學(xué)顯微鏡能看到活細(xì)胞內(nèi)最微小的結(jié)構(gòu)。
周三上午宣布的2014年獲獎(jiǎng)?wù)呤牵ゼ醽喼莼羧A德·休斯醫(yī)學(xué)研究所的埃里克·貝慈葛(Eric Betzig),，德國(guó)馬克斯·普朗克生物物理化學(xué)研究所的斯德范·W·黑爾(Stefan W. Hell)，以及加利福尼亞州斯坦福大學(xué)的威廉·E·莫爾納(William E. Moerner),。
瑞典皇家科學(xué)院是頒發(fā)諾貝爾獎(jiǎng)的機(jī)構(gòu),，其頒獎(jiǎng)詞說(shuō)，這三人獲獎(jiǎng)的原因是他們“對(duì)超高分辨率熒光顯微技術(shù)發(fā)展”的貢獻(xiàn),，該技術(shù)使研究人員能實(shí)時(shí)觀察分子過(guò)程,。
在瑞典宣布頒獎(jiǎng)的新聞發(fā)布會(huì)后，黑爾說(shuō),，“我完全沒有想到。”
貝慈葛在接受采訪時(shí)說(shuō),，他是在慕尼黑通過(guò)電話得知這個(gè)消息的,，他正在那里參加一個(gè)會(huì)議。他說(shuō)他的反應(yīng)是,，“我猜是特別高興,，也有些恐懼，我的生活已經(jīng)夠忙,、夠快樂了,，我不需要受到過(guò)多的攪擾。”
諾貝爾獎(jiǎng)委員會(huì)在宣布獲獎(jiǎng)?wù)咧?，未能通知到莫爾納,。“我實(shí)際上還沒有機(jī)會(huì)和他們通話，”莫爾納周三早上在巴西一家酒店的房間里說(shuō),，他正在那里參加一個(gè)科學(xué)研討會(huì),。
他說(shuō),，他的妻子打電話把消息告訴了他。
光學(xué)顯微鏡被用于研究微小的生物體,，因?yàn)樗鼈兲?，肉眼看不到。但是,，一條被稱為衍射極限的光學(xué)基本定律指出,，顯微鏡的分辨率不會(huì)小于觀察所用光源波長(zhǎng)的一半。
對(duì)可見光波長(zhǎng)來(lái)說(shuō),，上述極限約為0.2納米,，相比之下，人頭發(fā)的直徑是這個(gè)極限的1270倍,。但細(xì)菌的大小和衍射極限差不多,，所以在顯微鏡中，一個(gè)細(xì)菌是個(gè)分不清的小團(tuán)兒,。
研究人員無(wú)法打破物理定律,。但是，他們?cè)诟髯元?dú)立的工作中意識(shí)到,，如果他們能使分子部分發(fā)光的話,，他們可以繞過(guò)衍射極限。
黑爾說(shuō),，“最終,，我意識(shí)到有一種處理分子的辦法。”
通過(guò)讓分子發(fā)光,，然后把生物體某個(gè)部分的光關(guān)閉,，他們可以把不同的成像結(jié)合起來(lái)，讓最小的分子清晰地呈現(xiàn)在眼前,。如今,，這個(gè)技術(shù)讓生物學(xué)家可以觀察比如DNA在細(xì)胞內(nèi)如何折疊和打開的機(jī)制。
三位諾獎(jiǎng)獲得者都把自己的創(chuàng)新用在最小尺度上的生物學(xué)研究上,。黑爾曾研究大腦的突觸如何工作,，莫爾納觀察過(guò)與亨廷頓氏癥有關(guān)的蛋白質(zhì)，貝慈葛跟蹤過(guò)胚胎中的細(xì)胞分裂過(guò)程,。
“生物學(xué)變成了化學(xué),，”諾貝爾獎(jiǎng)化學(xué)委員會(huì)主席、隆德大學(xué)無(wú)機(jī)化學(xué)教授斯文·列丁(Sven Lidin)說(shuō),，“化學(xué)變成了生物學(xué),。”
這三位科學(xué)家將分享110萬(wàn)美元（約合675萬(wàn)元人民幣）的獎(jiǎng)金，頒獎(jiǎng)儀式于12月10日在斯德哥爾摩舉行,。
2 Americans and a German Are Awarded Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Three scientists, two American and one German, have received this year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry for, in effect, circumventing a basic law of physics and enabling optical microscopes to peer at the tiniest structures within living cells.
The 2014 laureates, announced Wednesday morning, are Eric Betzig of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Virginia; Stefan W. Hell of the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Germany; and William E. Moerner of Stanford University in California.
In its citation, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which awards the prize, said the three were being honored "for the development of super-resolved fluorescence microscopy,” which allows the molecular processes to be viewed in real time.
At a news conference after the announcement in Sweden, Dr. Hell said, "I was totally surprised.”
In an interview, Dr. Betzig said he had learned the news in a phone call in Munich, wher he was attending a conference. He said his reaction was "I guess elation and fear — the fear that being my life is busy enough and happy enough, and it doesn’t need to be perturbed too much.”
The committee was not able to reach Dr. Moerner before making the announcement. "I actually still haven’t a chance to talk to them,” Dr. Moerner said Wednesday morning from a hotel room in Brazil, wher he is attending a scientific workshop.
He said his wife had called to tell him the news.
Optical microscopes are used to study organisms too small to see on their own. But a fundamental law of optics known as the diffraction limit states that the resolution can never be better than half the wavelength of light being looked at.
For optical wavelengths, that limit is about 0.2 millionths of a meter, or one 127-thousandth of an inch. A human hair is about 100 millionths of an inch wide. But a bacterium is about the size of the diffraction limit, and could be seen only as a blob.
The researchers could not break the laws of physics. But, working separately, they realized they could work around the diffraction limit if they could make parts of the molecules glow.
"Eventually I realized there was a way to play with the molecules,” Dr. Hell said.
By lighting up and then turning off parts of the organism, they could combine images that brought the tiniest of molecules into clear view. hat now allows biologists to look at the mechanism of how DNA folds and unfolds within living cells, for example.
The three laureates have themselves employed their innovations to study biology at the smallest scales. Dr. Hell has studied how brain synapses work, Dr. Moerner has looked at proteins related to Huntington’s disease and Dr. Betzig has tracked cell division inside embryos.
"Biology has turned into chemistry,” said Sven Lidin, chairman of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry and a professor of inorganic chemistry at Lund University. "Chemistry has turned into biology.”
The three scientists will share a prize of $1.1 million, to be awarded in Stockholm on Dec. 10.
Three scientists, two American and one German, have received this year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry for, in effect, circumventing a basic law of physics and enabling optical microscopes to peer at the tiniest structures within living cells.
The 2014 laureates, announced Wednesday morning, are Eric Betzig of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Virginia; Stefan W. Hell of the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Germany; and William E. Moerner of Stanford University in California.
In its citation, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which awards the prize, said the three were being honored "for the development of super-resolved fluorescence microscopy,” which allows the molecular processes to be viewed in real time.
At a news conference after the announcement in Sweden, Dr. Hell said, "I was totally surprised.”
In an interview, Dr. Betzig said he had learned the news in a phone call in Munich, wher he was attending a conference. He said his reaction was "I guess elation and fear — the fear that being my life is busy enough and happy enough, and it doesn’t need to be perturbed too much.”
The committee was not able to reach Dr. Moerner before making the announcement. "I actually still haven’t a chance to talk to them,” Dr. Moerner said Wednesday morning from a hotel room in Brazil, wher he is attending a scientific workshop.
He said his wife had called to tell him the news.
Optical microscopes are used to study organisms too small to see on their own. But a fundamental law of optics known as the diffraction limit states that the resolution can never be better than half the wavelength of light being looked at.
For optical wavelengths, that limit is about 0.2 millionths of a meter, or one 127-thousandth of an inch. A human hair is about 100 millionths of an inch wide. But a bacterium is about the size of the diffraction limit, and could be seen only as a blob.
The researchers could not break the laws of physics. But, working separately, they realized they could work around the diffraction limit if they could make parts of the molecules glow.
"Eventually I realized there was a way to play with the molecules,” Dr. Hell said.
By lighting up and then turning off parts of the organism, they could combine images that brought the tiniest of molecules into clear view. hat now allows biologists to look at the mechanism of how DNA folds and unfolds within living cells, for example.
The three laureates have themselves employed their innovations to study biology at the smallest scales. Dr. Hell has studied how brain synapses work, Dr. Moerner has looked at proteins related to Huntington’s disease and Dr. Betzig has tracked cell division inside embryos.
"Biology has turned into chemistry,” said Sven Lidin, chairman of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry and a professor of inorganic chemistry at Lund University. "Chemistry has turned into biology.”
The three scientists will share a prize of $1.1 million, to be awarded in Stockholm on Dec. 10.
