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Bird flu research
Bird flu research. Results of gel electrophoresis, used to sequence the genome of an avian flu virus. Fragments of the virus' DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) are added to the gel and an electric current is applied to it. This causes the nucleotide bases to separate along the gel, according to their size. After the process has run the bases appear as bands on the gel. The sequences of the bases can be read to determine the strain of virus. The virus strain H5N1 can be spread to humans by inhaling the faeces of infected birds, and can be fatal. It is feared it could mutate into a form able to be transmitted from human to human, potentially leading to a pandemic. Photographed at the Pasteur Institute, France.
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