While each new discovery on the virus provides scientists and governments with vital new information on SARS-CoV-2, none of them are able to give a clear overall image of the virus particles that can infect us.

Now, a collaboration between experts has created one of the most detailed 3-D models of both the interior and the exterior of the SARS-CoV-2 virus particle.

The collaboration includes Annabel Slater, a freelance scientific Illustrator and graduate of The Glasgow School of Art—University of Glasgow Masters in Medical Simulation and Human Anatomy; scientists at MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research; and experts from the School of Simulation and Visualisation at the GSA (SimVis).

The striking new images and videos are available to see on the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) COVID-19 website, Coronavirus Explained.

Piecing together the complex scientific jigsaw of all the known details about this new coronavirus so far, the cross-disciplinary team have created a series of striking images and videos. While the illustrations do not reveal any new information about SARS-CoV-2, they are one of the first and most detailed 3-D representations of the virus particles.

It was possible to create the detailed illustrations so quickly, thanks to a long-standing collaboration between the University of Glasgow and The Glasgow School of Art (the GSA).

The illustrations and 3-D models have been made freely available to view online and to download for use by anyone who wishes to visualise SARS-CoV-2. A set of science communication resources incorporating then, including colouring sheets and an augmented reality educational app, are already in development at the CVR and will be released in the near future.

By visualising existing data about the particles that transmit COVID-19, it's hoped that this model will provide a valuable resource for anyone who wants to have a mental image of the invisible agent behind the current pandemic.