The Empty Virus

Research by the Scripps Research Institute indicates that an empty protein capsule of the cowpea mosaic virus might be effective in human genetic therapies.  The capsule contains none of the virus's genetic information, so would not be able to infect humans even if it was a human virus instead of a plant virus.  The researchers wanted to know if the empty capsule would maintain its structure without the DNA, so they used X-ray crystallography to examine images of the structures of the cowpea mosaic virus and the empty capsule.  The results confirmed that the structures are similar enough for the capsule to be modified in the same manner as the virus, which has been manipulated by scientists for some time.

I thought this interesting because we were talking about using viruses to insert good copies of a defective gene in a person.  It certainly is a very interesting concept, but it sounds like a very expensive concept, because since the foreign DNA would probably be degraded by the cell it would have to be reapplied often.  Unless reverse transcriptase could be used to actually insert the gene into the cell's DNA, although that might disrupt other genes.  Give it a few years or decades and the price would probably come down.

Scientists snap a picture of DNA’s double helix for the very first time

The picture of the double helix was taken by Enzo Di Fabrizio from the University of Genoa, Italy. He was able to create this by ”pulling a small strand of DNA from a diluted solution and then propping it up like a clothesline between two nanoscopic silicon pillars”. Before this picture, the double helix has never actually been seen by scientists, but its been well documented that the DNA structure is that of spiraling corkscrew. However, this was because of a technique called X-ray crystallography where patterns are converted into an image using mathematics. But by using an electron microscope, and a special technique, Di Fabrizio was finally able to take an image of the double helix.



"The trick to the technique was in acquiring a discrete strand of DNA that could be stretched out and ready to view with an electron microscope. Di Fabrizio managed this by creating a pattern of pillars that repelled water, which resulted in quick moisture evaporation and a residual strand of DNA all ready to go. Then, in order to create a high-resolution image, Di Fabrizio drilled tiny holes in the base of the nanopillar bed and shone beams of electrons". This technique will also be a breakthrough in observing DNA in greater detail along with being able to see how it interacts with RNA and proteins.

This is a great breakthrough in science, and one that I did not even realize that had not happened yet. I was under the assumption that an image of DNA had already been created. With the ability to take images of DNA at this resolution, and hopefully being able to observe its interactions with RNA and proteins, I'm interested to see where this will all lead.