Scientists have created the first biologically accurate model SARS-CoV-2, which can be printed on a regular 3D printer.
The task, in fact, was not as simple as it might seem at first glance. The creation of the model required the combined efforts of 23 scientists from seven different countries and with completely different specializations – chemists, physicists, specialists in the field of computer technology and structural biology. They analyzed all currently known molecular structures of the virus, of which there are now more than 500, and then recreated them with absolute precision in 3D at a scale of 1: 100,000.
Anyone can print the virus – scientists have posted on their all the detailed instructions necessary for this, and besides, there you can find a lot of related information. The authors of the model believe that it will be useful primarily for medical researchers involved in the development of drugs and therapies for COVID-19, but it may well be of interest to the general public, allowing adults and children to look into the structural biology of the virus. “We hope we were able to make the virus clearer,” says research team leader Dr. Andrea Thorn from the University of Würzburg.
By the way, for those who wish there is an additional option – you can separately print human antigens to SARS-CoV-2 and attach them to the spike proteins of the virus.
–
