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"Discovery Files" Features from the National Science Foundation
"Gear Head"
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A VIRUS WITH A V-EIGHT? THE "DISCOVERY FILES": NEW ADVANCES IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, FROM THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. VIRUSES HAVE MOTORS--TINY, BUT POWERFUL, MOLECULAR MOTORS. BUT, IF YOU WANT TO SEE HOW THEY WORK, YOU CAN'T JUST HAVE A MECHANIC JACK UP YOUR VIRUS, ON A LIFT. RESEARCHERS AT BOTH PURDUE UNIVERSITY AND CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY HAVE DISCOVERED THE ATOMIC STRUCTURE OF THESE MOLECULAR MOTORS--AND THINK THAT THEY NOW KNOW HOW THE MOTORS WORK TO GET A VIRUS UP TO SPEED: THEY BELIEVE THAT--JUST LIKE PISTONS IN A CAR ENGINE--THE MOTOR IN A T-FOUR VIRUS PROGRESSIVELY PULLS GENETIC MATERIAL INTO THE HEAD OF THE VIRUS--ALLOWING THE VIRUS TO SURVIVE AND REPRODUCE. COMPARED TO A CAR ENGINE, THE T-FOUR'S MOTOR IS PROPORTIONATELY TWICE AS POWERFUL. WHEN ITS JOB IS DONE, A GOOD PART OF THE MOTOR FALLS AWAY--AND THE VIRUS IS READY TO INFECT A HOST ORGANISM. NOT ALL VIRUSES HAVE THESE NANO-MOTORS UNDER THE HOOD--BUT SOME VIRUSES THAT CAUSE HUMAN DISEASES DO HAVE THIS SAME "MOTOR FUNCTION" TO GET THEM OFF THE STARTING LINE. COULD THESE FINDINGS, SOMEDAY, HOLD A KEY TO STOPPING A VIRUS--BEFORE IT GETS A CHANCE TO MULTIPLY? PERHAPS. THE FINDINGS MIGHT ALSO INSPIRE ENGINEERS DESIGNING SOPHISTICATED NANO-MACHINES--AND ASSIST DRUG COMPANIES DEVELOPING METHODS TO SABOTAGE VIRUS MACHINERY. A GEAR-HEAD VIRUS: A SCIENTIFIC POSSIBILITY THAT SOUNDS LIKE IT BELONGS IN "POPULAR MECHANICS". THE "DISCOVERY FILES" COVERS PROJECTS FUNDED BY THE GOVERNMENT'S NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH BROUGHT TO YOU BY YOU! LEARN MORE AT "N-S-F"-DOT-GOV--OR ON THEIR PODCAST.
For additional "Discovery Files" features from the National Science Foundation, click here.
