How did a physicist who is often referred to as a biologist win the Noel Prize in Chemistry? Microscopes.
The processes within a cell have long been of great interest to biologist around the world. They were able to test them, determine their nature in some cases, but never directly observe them without the use of an electron microscope, which resulted in the cell getting fried. This changed with an invention created by the Janelia Research Campus of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the photoactivated localization microscopy. With a resolution of one-quarter of a micrometer, these development has allowed for much more detailed imaging of live cells and their activities.
From a personal perspective, Betzig stated in response to how the Nobel changed his life, “It’s disrupted my happy life quite a lot. I hate traveling, and you’re constantly asked to give talks,” (New York Times). Despite his apprehension surrounding the Nobel prize, the story of how he came to develop the microscope took several decades. It is notable that this did follow something similar to the long hunch concept in Where Good Ideas Come From. On the other hand, Randall Munroe can now have the opportunity to observe the tip of a pencil in even more detail.
