Scientists Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank, and Richard Henderson have won the 2017 Nobel Prize for chemistry for developing cryo-electron microscopy, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences says.
The "cool method" devised by the trio simplifies and improves the imaging of biomolecules, the academy said.
"This method has moved biochemistry into a new era," it said in a statement on October 4 announcing the prize, which comes with an award of 9 million Swedish crowns ($1.1 million).
"Researchers can now freeze biomolecules mid-movement and visualize processes they have never previously seen, which is decisive for both the basic understanding of life's chemistry and for the development of pharmaceuticals," it said.
Dubochet is Swiss, Frank is a German-born U.S. citizen, and Henderson is from Britain.
Chemistry is the third Nobel Prize announced this year after the winners of the medicine and physics prizes were revealed earlier this week.
The prizes are named after dynamite inventor Alfred Nobel and have been awarded since 1901 for achievements in science, literature, and peace.
