The Science

What is a virus?

A virus is a type of microorganism, or microbe. Unlike bacteria (another microbe), a virus is not a cell and is in fact more like a particle. This means they can't really do anything at all until they infect a living cell. Because of this, a virus isn’t considered ‘alive’ in a conventional sense as it cannot move or produce energy on its own. The only way a virus can survive and reproduce is by essentially hijacking a living animal or plant cell, taking over the cell’s internal machinery, and making a ‘virus factory’ to replicate its genetic code and produce more viruses.

What is a virus factory?

When a virus enters a cell, it hijacks the machinery within to produce more virus particles in an assembly called a virus factory. Think of it like a production line in a biscuit factory - similarly to how the ingredients of a chocolate coated biscuit are first mixed, cut out into the correct shape, baked, and then coated in chocolate, the virus assembly consists of a series of different steps to produce the final product - a fully formed virus particle ready to leave the infected cell to find new healthy cells to infect, and turn into more virus factories. We want to understand where in the cell this factory appears, and where exactly the virus particles progress through their life cycle stages, to better understand viral infection.

What is cryo-ET?

Electron Tomography (ET) is similar to X-ray computed tomography (X-ray CT), except we use electrons rather than X-rays. X-ray CT is exactly what you find in a CT scanner in a hospital. Tomography itself is a technique that takes a series of images of a sample at different rotation angles (called a tilt series). Reconstruction of this tilt series allows us to piece everything back together into a 3D volume. The main difference between normal CT in a hospital and electron tomography is the resolution of the volume - with electrons we can see things that are much smaller.

The cryo part of cryo-ET means cryogenic, or frozen. Biology likes water, but the electron microscope needs a vacuum, so if we didn't freeze our cell sample before imaging it, all the water would bubble off in the vacuum and we'd be left with a very unhappy cell, and bad data!

What is the scale of the images we’re looking at?

The data we are looking at is 3D, so rather than a pixel size, it has a voxel size (a voxel is a volumetric pixel). This dataset has a resolution of 19.25 angstroms/voxel - That's 19.25 x 10^-10 metres, or 1.925 nanometres!

What does the grey value of the image represent?

The Workshops

Where can I sign up for a resource kit?

Sign up on the Virus Factory in Schools homepage. This page will also have details of how to sign up for one of our online researcher Q&A webinars, scheduled termly.

What age group are the workshops designed for?

The workshops have been designed for ages 9-11 using the Science Capital teaching approach. We have a curriculum map document that links the contents of the workshops to the National Curricula for England, Wales, and Scotland (for Key Stages 2 and 3).

Can I use this project for different age groups?

Yes! We have delivered adapted versions of the workshops to children up to 16 years old. We have also used the activities in the workshops in an Oxford Physics Christmas Lecture and many open days and science festivals.

Do I need to have a physical kit in order to run the workshops?

No - no kit necessary! All materials are available to download on Zenodo, including some "print and play" materials such as card matching activities and a 3D cell jigsaw.

Where can I ask for help?

There are many ways to ask for help!

• Reach out to us on the Talk forums.
• Message one of our team on the Zooniverse (e.g. @smith_p or @msbrhonclif)
• Send an email to the Science Scribbler Team or the Oxford Physics Team

The Data

What happens to the data submitted by students?

What are the next steps in this research?

Everything Else

Are there any other resources for using citizen science and the Zooniverse in schools?

Yes! The other part of the original Zooniverse in Schools programme is hosted on the Zooniverse Classrooms website. There you'll find various educational tools for all ages. If there's nothing that fits into your teaching plan, check out the many live projects on the Zooniverse, and you might find one that works well for your lessons!

Any unanswered questions? Ask us on the Talk forums!

We're happy to answer any additional questions you may have on the Talk forums. Alternatively, you can message one of our team on the Zooniverse. Just head to the Team page and find one of our Zooniverse usernames. Alternatively, you can contact the Science Scribbler Team or the Oxford Physics Team via email.