Visual representations of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 have become a common sight over the past year. But this particular image shows real coronavirus particles in unprecedented detail. It is the first 3D image of SARS-CoV-2 made from a single scan of frozen virus particles, using a technique called cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET). Most previous images were either composites from several scans, or computer visualizations.
The image was unveiled in January by researchers at Tsinghua University in Beijing, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia, and the Vienna-based company Nanographics. The researchers added colours to distinguish different parts of the virus.
“We used machine learning and advanced visualization algorithms to show you the most detailed view of a real SARS-CoV-2 virion, in 3D, directly from Cryo-ET data,” says Nanographics. “We chose bright pink for the spikes, to signify that they are the part of the virus responsible...
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