Nearly 100 years ago, a seemingly simple discovery revolutionized the microscope. The introduction of phase contrast, which garnered a Nobel Prize in 1953, brought into clear view structures inside ...

A laser (purple) is powerfully amplified by highly polished mirrors and focused on the electron beam (blue) to shift its phase and increase the cryo-EM microscope’s contrast, allowing biologists to ...

In a landmark achievement in biological imaging, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley and Biohub today announced the successful demonstration of the laser phase plate, a novel device ...

Physicists have demonstrated a laser-based method that enables a cryogenic electron microscope to image small protein structures with greater detail than previously possible. The laser phase plate ...

Biohub and UC Berkeley show that the laser phase plate, a revolutionary device with a laser 100 million times brighter than the Sun, dramatically improves images obtained through cryo-electron ...

A laser-based means of enhancing cryo-electron microscopy imaging should offer "unprecedented views into our cells," according to researchers from UC Berkeley and Biohub. In what is described as a ...

In this episode of C&EN Uncovered, host Craig Bettenhausen speaks with C&EN senior editor Laurel Oldach about a laser phase plate, a device that boosts the contrast in electron microscopy using the ...

A laser (purple) is powerfully amplified by highly polished mirrors and focused on the electron beam (blue) to shift its phase and increase the cryo-EM microscope’s contrast, allowing biologists to ...

After years of effort, two research teams have developed ‘laser phase plate’ systems that could help cryo-electron-microscopy users to generate high-quality structures for a broad range of proteins.

BERKELEY, Calif. and REDWOOD CITY, Calif., June 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- In a landmark achievement in biological imaging, researchers at Biohub and the University of California, Berkeley today ...