Putting the Coronavirus under microscope
Fighting the invisible enemy
By Stephen Hutcheon and Alex Palmer.
#covid19 #coronavirus #science #microscope #visualization
"For more than two decades, Dr Jason Roberts has been routinely peering into microscopic netherworlds and observing the behaviours of some of nature’s most deadly nano-sized insurgents.
[...]
In early February, he was among the first Australians to observe the virus, which, a few days later, would be given the official name of SARS-Cov-2.
And as an accomplished scientific illustrator, he is also skilled in the use of powerful electron microscopes (EM) to capture images of viruses and then use those to recreate intricate three-dimensional models.
Although he didn’t know it at the time, he was snapshotting a virus that would transform into the mother of all disruptive pathogens, a biological wrecking ball that has become an existential threat to our way of life.
To eyeball the virus is to know its shape and structure. Armed with that knowledge, scientists can begin to decipher its genomic mission, a vital first step in understanding how to neutralise this invisible enemy."
You can read the full article and take a look at these incredible images here:
