This New Technology May Hold Clues To Stopping Viruses

It tracks the way that viruses assemble.

Viruses can spontaneously self-assemble in large numbers, but how exactly they assemble has left scientists scratching their heads.

Now, an international team of researchers has developed a new way to closely observe viruses in hopes that better understanding their self-assembling skills may lead to the engineering of new treatments, according to a video (above) released by the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences on Monday.

"Viral infection involves many complex molecular and cellular pathways, but self-assembly is a process that is found in many different viruses," Dr. Vinothan Manoharan, professor of chemical engineering and physics at Harvard University and leader of the research, said in a statement. "This simple technology, which is cheap, easy and scalable, could provide a new, cost effective way to study and diagnose viruses."

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