U of A unveils high-resolution microscope that can speed up medical discoveries

The University of Alberta showed off its new $8 million microscope on Wednesday, calling it a pivotal moment in health-related research.

The University of Alberta unveiled a new facility featuring a cutting-edge, high-resolution microscope on Wednesday.

The microscope is said to speed up medical discoveries, capable of revealing biomolecules. This includes proteins, enzymes, DNA and RNA.

“Once we better understand the structural details of these biomolecules, we will be in a much better position to develop medical treatments,” said Matthias Götte, director of Striving for Pandemic Preparedness – The Alberta Research Consortium (SPP-ARC). “This data can be generated quickly with this instrument,” he added.

Thermo Fisher Titan Krios G4 is one of five cryo-electron microscopes in Canada.

According to the U of A, the $8-million facility is the only one in Alberta.

“With this infrastructure, Alberta is significantly strengthening its life sciences innovation capacity and taking a leading role in innovation health research,” said Hilary Faulkner, assistant deputy minister of technology and innovation.

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The microscope can be found at the Alberta Cryo-EM facility, which includes other data processing and sample preparation tools.

It offers detailed studies into biological processes, human diseases and the development of medical solutions.

The $20-million Alberta Cryo-EM facility was funded by a provincial grant.

The U of A says it expects the facility to be in high demand by researchers worldwide.