Virus uses 'Swiss Army knife' protein to cause infection
Wednesday, August 17, 2011 - 10:30
in Biology & Nature
In an advance in understanding Mother Nature's copy machines, motors, assembly lines and other biological nano-machines, scientists are describing how a multipurpose protein on the tail of a virus bores into bacteria like a drill bit, clears the shavings out of the hole and enlarges the hole. They report on the "Swiss Army knife" protein, which enables the virus to pump its genetic material into and thus infect bacteria.