Computer simulation breaks virus apart to learn how it comes together

Researchers led by Carnegie Mellon University physicist Markus Deserno and University of Konstanz (Germany) chemist Christine Peter have developed a computer simulation that crushes viral capsids. By allowing researchers to see how the tough shells break apart, the simulation provides a computational window for looking at how viruses and proteins assemble. The study is published in the October issue of The European Physical Journal Special Topics. “The concept of breaking something to see how it’s made isn’t new. It’s what’s being done at particle accelerators and in materials science labs worldwide–not to mention by toddlers who break their toys to see what’s inside,” said Deserno, a professor in the department of physics and member of the department’s Biological Physics Initiative. “With a simulation we can build the virus, crush it and see what happens at a very high level of resolution.” Viral capsids, the protein shells that encapsulate and transport the viral...