전자현미경으로 '살아 있는 세포' 관찰 성공<br /><br />South Korean researchers have succeeded in real-time observation of live cells using electron microscopes for the first time in the world.<br />The finding is expected to help develop new drugs and better understand viruses.<br />Park Se-young has more.<br />The virus that causes COVID-19 is just 120 nanometers in size.<br />When developing new drugs, it's important to analyze the metastasis and infection process of viruses and to observe them in real time.<br />Until now, virus observation has only been possible for dead samples that have been fixed and stabilized through cryogenic electron microscopy.<br />But Korean researchers have succeeded in real-time observation of living microscopic biomaterials using graphene to coat cells for use in electron microscopes.<br />"Using this technology, we can directly observe how cells combine with other viruses or cells or see how various images change in real time."<br />The researchers covered cells in graphene, which is 200 times stronger than steel, has high electrical conductivity and does not permeate substances.<br />They found that covering cells with a point-two-nanometer-thick graphene shield prevents changes in the cell's structure caused by dehydration and cell damage caused by electron beams in the high-vacuum electron microscopes.<br />"It can observe a variety of biomass samples such as smaller proteins, DNA and viruses, so we can expect to be able to identify the mechanisms of a range of life phenomena."<br />The findings were published in the online journal Nano Letters.<br />Park Se-young, Arirang News.<br />
