New imaging technique ’sees’ virus move in unprecedented detail

Video: The CCMV virus capsid extending and contracting, as reconstructed by the new imaging technique. Credit: Harder et al. Nature Communications 10.1038/s41467'023 -41444-x - Scientists have developed a novel imaging technique to capture rapid protein dynamics. The technique, a microsecond, time-resolved version of cryogenic electron microscopy, allows them to observe the behavior of a virus in unprecedented detail. Proteins are the workhorses of biological systems, carrying out their work with extraordinary precision and speed. For years, observing proteins in action has been a significant challenge, as imaging methods often lacked sufficient speed and resolution to capture their elegant but swift dances. Now, a team of scientists led by Professor Ulrich Lorenz at EPFL, has used a novel imaging technique that pushes the time-resolution of cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) down to microseconds, to observe the fast dynamics of a virus in real-time.