In an article published in Medical Xpress, Georgia Tech researchers from the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry discussed the cryo-electron microscopy technology behind an important research discovery that could help create new drugs to lower "bad" cholesterol and hopefully prevent heart attacks and stroke.

Associate Professor Aditi Das and Professor MG Finn explained in an email that cryo-electron microscopy technology represents a revolution in biology and biochemistry because it allows scientists to determine the structures of biological molecules in great detail.

"When we know their structures, we have a big clue as to how they work, how to fix them if they are defective, or how to stop them if they cause harm. Nature is the supreme molecular architect, and we need techniques like cryo-EM to see the details of what she builds," Finn explained.

Research with this tool is going to have serious health benefits, the NIH said, because it allowed them for the first time to see how "bad" cholesterol, known as low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol or LDL-C, builds up in the body, and causes heart attacks and strokes in people who have genetically high LDL cholesterol.