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Each individual particle of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, a virion, is like a prickly ball with genetic material inside it. The size of the virion is 50 to 200 nanometers. And a microscopic image painted in bright (false) colors of how virus particles attack human lung cells can look like a decoration. Although there is nothing pretty here.
The author of the latest photos, Camille Ehre, a biochemist at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, has published her captured images in the New England Journal of Medicine. And photos are not only visually appealing, but they can also explain to scientists how microscopic virions can affect a person’s airways.
The “photomodels” have not grown into true living lung cells, but rather into a culture of human bronchial epithelial cells, cells grown in laboratory vessels that act as a barrier between the air entering the lungs and our bloodstream. The researchers infected the culture of these cells with the virus and allowed them to rest for 96 hours.
“Viruses formed approximately 3×10⁶ plaque-forming structures in each culture, corresponding to the large number of virions produced by each infected cell and released into the environment,” the study authors wrote.
Cameron Morrison, a medical student at the University of North Carolina, dedicated himself to “coloring” the photos sent by the researchers. The photos show derivatives of human hair-like cells (eyelashes, a lot. named) are painted blue, the mucus strips are yellow, green, and the virions themselves are red.
The photo above shows all of these structures in a larger context, with small virus particles. The image below enlarges the image further, showing the structure of the small particles and the density of the virus “seeding” more clearly.
Photo by C. Ehre / SARS-CoV-2 virions attack lung cells
In biology lessons, people learn more about the eyelashes of the intestinal cells that absorb nutrients into the bloodstream. However, similar structures are found in the lungs and other parts of the airways: they help protect the respiratory system from pathogens, retain moisture inside the lungs, and perform a self-cleaning function.
And while these microscopic photos are truly eye-catching, their purpose is far from purely aesthetic.
Photo by C. Ehre / Black and white photos of SARS-CoV-2: more contrast for scientists
The photos show the enormous number of virions produced by the cells that these viruses are capable of invading. If this were to happen in humans, those virus particles would likely be coughed up, sneezed, or simply exhaled during speech. They would enter the environment surrounded by small drops of moisture. And this in turn reminds us that the use of masks is very important.
Also, sometimes just by looking at very small things we can see the big picture.
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