Âé¶¹´«Ã½É«Ç鯬

Annual Meeting

Our coolest superpower: Seeing all the atoms

Jose A. Rodriguez Hosea Nelson
By Jose A. Rodriguez and Hosea Nelson
Sept. 19, 2023

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.

Submit an abstract

Abstract submission begins Sept. 14. If you submit by Oct. 12, you'll get a decision by Nov. 1. The regular submission deadline is Nov. 30.

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: “” 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 ShahmoradianUniversity of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

Lorena SaelicesUniversity of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

New approaches enabling structural science

Chair: Jose Rodriguez

Roger Castells–GraellsUniversity of California, Los Angeles

Hosea NelsonCalifornia Institute of Technology

Hong ZhouUniversity 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

Enjoy reading ASBMB Today?

Become a member to receive the print edition four times a year and the digital edition monthly.

Learn more
Jose A. Rodriguez
Jose A. Rodriguez

Jose A Rodriguez is an associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry at UCLA.

Hosea Nelson
Hosea Nelson

Hosea Nelson is a professor of chemistry at the California Institute of Technology. His group focuses on new synthetic methods and structural elucidation tools.

Get the latest from ASBMB Today

Enter your email address, and we’ll send you a weekly email with recent articles, interviews and more.

Latest in Science

Science highlights or most popular articles

ApoA1 reduce atherosclerotic plaques via cell death pathway
Journal News

ApoA1 reduce atherosclerotic plaques via cell death pathway

Oct. 1, 2025

Researchers show that ApoA1, a key HDL protein, helps reduce plaque and necrotic core formation in atherosclerosis by modulating Bim-driven macrophage death. The findings reveal new insights into how ApoA1 protects against heart disease.

Omega-3 lowers inflammation, blood pressure in obese adults
Journal News

Omega-3 lowers inflammation, blood pressure in obese adults

Oct. 1, 2025

A randomized study shows omega-3 supplements reduce proinflammatory chemokines and lower blood pressure in obese adults, furthering the understanding of how to modulate cardiovascular disease risk.

AI unlocks the hidden grammar of gene regulation
Feature

AI unlocks the hidden grammar of gene regulation

Sept. 30, 2025

Using fruit flies and artificial intelligence, Julia Zeitlinger’s lab is decoding genome patterns — revealing how transcription factors and nucleosomes control gene expression, pushing biology toward faster, more precise discoveries.

Zebrafish model links low omega-3s to eye abnormalities
Journal News

Zebrafish model links low omega-3s to eye abnormalities

Sept. 24, 2025

Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz developed a zebrafish model to show that low maternal docosahexaenoic acid can disrupt embryo eye development and immune gene expression, offering a tool to study nutrition in neurodevelopment.

Top reviewers at ASBMB journals
Observance

Top reviewers at ASBMB journals

Sept. 19, 2025

Editors recognize the heavy-lifters and rising stars during Peer Review Week.

Teaching AI to listen
Essay

Teaching AI to listen

Sept. 18, 2025

A computational medicine graduate student reflects on building natural language processing tools that extract meaning from messy clinical notes — transforming how we identify genetic risk while redefining what it means to listen in science.