Tag: COVID-19

  • A History of Crystallography – Part One

    A History of Crystallography – Part One

    What is Crystallography?

    In order to understand the history of it, we have to know what crystallography is. Crystallography is the study of crystals and the use of their atomic arrangement to understand their properties. Crystallography can be very useful. For example, it was used to track mutations and find a cure for COVID-19 (NIH). The spikes of the virus that allowed it to attach and infect your cells had a crystalline structure, meaning antibody treatments could target those spikes. The crystal spikes would also change slightly during mutations, allowing scientists to track new strands of COVID. Crystalline structures are also responsible for gemstones’ brilliance in light.

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