Now in our 13th year of bringing you beautiful imagery from biomedical science every day

Search the archive of over 4000 images

Light Force
17 March 2015

Light Force

Light is proving to be a powerful defensive weapon in biological warfare – the deliberate infection of others with deadly germs. Researchers know that germs, including those used as bioweapons, are susceptible to damage from ultraviolet light and they’ve developed ways to exploit this vulnerability. Here they make use of a substance found in figs (pictured, red), which attaches to germ DNA (green, purple and orange in this model). After exposure to ultraviolet light (right hand image) the fig substance forms links (yellow), which inactivates the DNA. This doesn’t destroy the germs outright but they’re unable to multiply or cause disease. Novel vaccines can be created from the inactivated germs and these are very potent because the ‘whole germ’ is utilised. An effective new vaccine against anthrax has already been developed using this method and the technology is being adapted to rid blood of viruses before transfusion.

Written by Julie Webb

Search The Archive

Submit An Image

Follow on Tumblr

Follow on Instagram

What is BPoD?

BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

Read More

BPoD is also available in Catalan at www.bpod.cat with translations by the University of Valencia.