Introduction to the Resolution Revolution
The “resolution revolution” involves cryo-electron microscopes, whose ever-improving detectors and software are producing three-dimensional images in unprecedented detail, aiding drugmakers. They reveal detail so precise that biologist Andrew Ward, of Scripps Research in La Jolla, California, was able to spotlight the Achilles’ heel of several types of coronaviruses in images that he produced in 2016-17.
The Discovery of Spike Proteins
The weaknesses he called out? Spike proteins — the now-familiar elements that allow such viruses to infect cells. This helped drugmakers to know exactly what to target when SARS-CoV-2 — the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 — emerged in late 2019. Ward produced an even clearer snapshot of the proteins in 2020, further helping scientists create vaccines. With additional help from him, effective vaccines were quickly produced.
Understanding the Technology
Ward offered a simple analogy to explain the matter. “Imagine walking into a dark room,” he said. “You can roughly tell where the furniture is, and see shadowy outlines of a couch or a table. But once the lights are on, you can visualize color, texture, size and fine details.” That’s what cryo-electron microscopes do — and with great speed.
The Power of Titan Krios
Today, he can generate 1,500 images per second on Titan Krios, the largest and most powerful of Scripps’ seven cryo-electron microscopes. If you were able to stack up the images he takes during a six-hour period, they would rise as high as Mount Everest, said Ward, who has been collaborating with institutes on SARS-CoV-2, Lassa, HIV, malaria and the H5N1 bird flu. Lab manager Hannah Turner shows the Titan Krios electron microscope at Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, on Friday, April 11, 2025. (Hayne Palmour IV / For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
The Importance of the Images
To the unfamiliar eye, the images look bizarre. Some resemble bumpy, frozen lava, others crinkly Christmas wreaths. Still others look like the knotty cords on old landline telephones. But their importance is understood by scientists, especially those focused on preparing the world for whatever pandemic could come next.
The Journey of Andrew Ward
It’s a bit of a fluke that Ward is a rising star at an institute that has helped develop more than 15 FDA-approved drugs and treatments, including Humira, which is used by people who suffer from arthritis. He was interested in science growing up outside Boston — less so when he entered Duke University as a freshman. Things quickly changed when he took a work-study job in a campus lab, where cell biologists Michael and Mary Reedy let him tinker.
The Advancements in Electron Microscopes
Electron microscopes have existed since the 1930s, and they’ve played a vital role in revealing the structure of proteins and viruses and how they work. But the instruments didn’t start to enter their current golden age until roughly 2001, the year Ward arrived at Scripps as a lab technician. The advancements have come especially quickly over the past decade, starkly improving image resolution and enabling scientists to see individual atoms.
The Future of Vaccine Research
In plain terms, the microscope freezes biological samples, then hits them with electron beams that create images. “Once you see the arrangement of atoms, the connectivity of molecules, you can become an engineer,” Ward said. “You can move things around and manipulate the building blocks of life to make new therapeutics and vaccines that have much higher likelihood of success compared to engineering without blueprints. Lab manager Hannah Turner holds grids, a single one used to hold a sample, placed into the Titan Krios electron microscope at Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, on Friday, April 11, 2025. (Hayne Palmour IV / For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Conclusion
The resolution revolution is making it faster and easier for scientists to see the molecules that undermine human health — and possibly fight the problem. With the help of cryo-electron microscopes like Titan Krios, scientists are able to produce three-dimensional images in unprecedented detail, aiding drugmakers and helping to create effective vaccines.
FAQs
Q: What is the resolution revolution?
A: The resolution revolution involves cryo-electron microscopes, whose ever-improving detectors and software are producing three-dimensional images in unprecedented detail, aiding drugmakers.
Q: What is Titan Krios?
A: Titan Krios is the largest and most powerful of Scripps’ seven cryo-electron microscopes, capable of generating 1,500 images per second.
Q: How does the microscope work?
A: The microscope freezes biological samples, then hits them with electron beams that create images, allowing scientists to see the arrangement of atoms and the connectivity of molecules.
Q: What is the potential impact of this technology?
A: The technology has the potential to speed up the process of choosing which vaccines should go on to large-scale clinical trials, and to create new therapeutics and vaccines with a higher likelihood of success.
