NIH Research Matters January 30, 2012 Looking Inside Viruses
Since the discovery of the microscope, scientists have tried to
visualize smaller and smaller structures to provide insights
into the inner workings of human cells, bacteria and viruses.
Now, researchers have developed a new way to see tiny structures
within viruses. Conventional cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM)
has allowed researchers to image the surface of viruses in great
detail. But scientists hadn't been able to clearly visualize
structures inside viruses. Cryo-EM procedures use radiation, and
higher doses damage viruses, destroying the very structures
researchers would like to view. A team led by Dr. Alasdair
Steven of NIH's National Institute of Arthritis and
Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) and Dr. Lindsay Black
at the University of Maryland Medical School was studying a type
of virus that infects bacteria and so might one day be used to
combat pathogens. Past studies showed that the virus, called
ϕKZ, contains a cylindrical prot