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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 5, 2025

Open-source Single-particle Analysis for Super-resolution Microscopy with VirusMapper

Open-source Single-particle Analysis for Super-resolution Microscopy with VirusMapper

Published on: April 9, 2017

Visualising Viruses.

Annabel Slater¹, Naina Nair², Rachael Suétt²

¹School of Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.

The Journal of General Virology

|January 27, 2022

Summary

Visualizing virus particles using medical illustration integrates diverse data, aiding understanding of viral biology and transmission. This approach enhances science communication for viruses like influenza A and SARS-CoV-2.

Keywords:

SARS-CoV-2 influenza virus visualisation

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Area of Science:

Virology
Medical Illustration
Science Communication

Background:

Viruses are influential yet difficult to visualize due to their scale and host integration.
Current understanding often relies on mental images of virus particles.
Detailed structural data is lacking for many significant viruses.

Purpose of the Study:

To demonstrate the application of medical illustration for visualizing complex virus particles.
To integrate multi-source data for creating detailed viral visualizations.
To enhance the communication and understanding of viral biology.

Main Methods:

Utilized medical illustration techniques to create visualizations.
Integrated experimental data from multiple sources for accuracy.
Applied methods to visualize influenza A virus and SARS-CoV-2 particles.

Main Results:

Successfully generated detailed visualizations of highly variable influenza A virus particles.
Created visualizations for SARS-CoV-2 particles during the early COVID-19 pandemic.
Demonstrated the utility of integrative illustrations for understanding viral structure and biology.

Conclusions:

Integrative illustrations of virus particles challenge existing biological concepts.
Visualizations serve as valuable tools for science communication.
Developed resources to aid in visualizing impactful viruses like influenza A and SARS-CoV-2.