Our coolest superpower: Seeing all the atoms

Wouldn't it be great if we could just see all the atoms of all the molecules, any time we wanted?

If we were able to sample something — anything — and just tell what it's made of? Where all its atoms were? Which ones were connected or ready to react?

In about the span of a century, scientists have learned more about molecules and their components than we ever thought possible. In some cases, we can already pick up a bit of dust or a tiny droplet and see where the atoms of its resident molecules are. Or we can calculate predicted structures that are so accurate they can be used to predict function.

In old comic books, this kind of X-ray vision was the stuff of superheroes. Someday, in the not-too-distant future, we might all have it.

Join us for a glimpse into the challenges and opportunities of building that future, so we can all scrutinize, predict, build, target and react to all the molecules.

Keywords: Structure, cryo-electron microscopy, microcrystal electron diffraction, alpha fold, tomography, artificial intelligence.

Who should attend: Absolutely everyone should attend. Who doesn't want a superpower?

Theme song: “Mosaic” by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers

This session is literally powered by electrons and photons.

New frontiers in structural biology

The rise of molecular assemblies

Chair: Rebecca Vorhees

Sarah Shahmoradian, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

Lorena Saelices, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

New approaches enabling structural science

Chair: Jose Rodriguez

Roger Castells–Graells, University of California, Los Angeles

Hosea Nelson, California Institute of Technology

Hong Zhou, University of California, Los Angeles

Seeing the chemistry of life

Chair: Hosea Nelson

Lindsey R. F. Backman, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research

Douglas Rees, California Institute of Technology