Virus design, 1955-1962: Science meets art

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Abstract

This paper traces the beginnings of structural virology in the mid-20th century, focusing especially on the synergy between models of virus structure and models within art, notably Buckminster Fuller's geodesic domes and Kenneth Snelson's tensegrity structures. As Donald Caspar and Aaron Klug sought to extend the Crick-Watson theory of spherical virus structure, they explored analogies between biology and architecture, eventually publishing the classic Caspar-Klug theory of virus structure in 1962.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1287-1291
Number of pages5
JournalPhytopathology
Volume96
Issue number11
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2006

Keywords

  • Fivefold symmetry
  • Francis Crick
  • James Watson
  • John McHale
  • Kenneth Snelson
  • Michael Goldberg
  • Poliovirus
  • Rosalind Franklin
  • Self-assembly
  • Tomato bushy stunt virus
  • Triangulation number
  • Turnip yellow mosaic virus

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