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Molecular Biophysics » New microscope allows scientists to track
a functioning protein with atomic-level precision     In a
second paper published in the Nov. 8 online issue of the journal
Physical Review Letters, the scientists offer a detailed
description of their novel device, an advanced version of the
"optical trap," which uses infrared light to trap and control
the forces on a functional protein, allowing researchers to
monitor the molecule's every move in real time.  "In the Nature
experiment, we carried out the highest-resolution measurement
ever made of an individual protein," says Steven Block,
professor of applied physics and of biological sciences. "We
obtained measurements accurate to one angstrom, or one-tenth of
a nanometer. That's a distance equivalent to the diameter of a
single hydrogen atom, and about 10 times finer than any previous
such measurement."  Block co-authored the papers in Nature and
Physical Review Letters with thre