While the COVID-19 has infected 3,152,959 people all over the world and killed 218,636 as of April 29 and continues to do so, we are still staggered by the likes of it. A new image caught with the help of a microscope reveals the insidious way the virus is released by a dying cell after it hosted the virus and the virus has killed it.
According to Fox News, Elizabeth Fischer, the head of Rocky Mountain Laboratory’s (RML) Electron Microscopy Unit, captured the high-resolution image of the virus with the help of a scanning electron microscope. It reveals the virus dripping from the folds and squiggles of a cell’s surface in a process called “viral shedding.”
Scientists Shared An Image Showing How COVID-19 Damages The Human Body
Once it gets inside the cell, the virus multiplies by the thousands. These numbers become the viral load that estimates the severity of the infection. After the cell is killed in the process, the tiny spherical pieces of virus colored in blue release themselves free and go to the next of kin where they continue to do the same, only stronger than before. It feels so unbelievable, almost senseless, that such an incredible little thing has so much power.
“This image gives us a window into how devastatingly effective SARS-CoV-2 appears to be at co-opting a host’s cellular machinery: just one infected cell is capable of releasing thousands of new virus particles that can, in turn, be transmitted to others,” Francis Collins of the National Institutes of Health.
A third of the confirmed cases are Americans: 1,035,765. A quarter of the deaths were registered in the US: 59,266. Although the image might be helpful for the scientists and their understanding of the virus, it makes no sense for the common citizen. It’s like an absurd cartoon frame that makes no sense.
Doris’s passion for writing started to take shape in college where she was editor-in-chief of the college newspaper. Even though she ended up working in IT for more than 7 years, she’s now back to what he always enjoyed doing. With a true passion for technology, Doris mostly covers tech-related topics.