Rooting out Ebola’s biomechanical enabler
Lehigh University wins NIH grant to unlock mystery of the virus’ interaction with host cells
In some ways, the Ebola virus operates like a vampire; only after it is politely invited in to a host cell does it take up the task of destroying everything in its path.
The virus uses the everyday function of endocytosis—the taking in of matter by a living cell—to gain entry, first attaching to the outer wall before a vesicle forms to draw it into the cell.