- It unfurls its 'legs'
- Then, it stalks its prey, looking for a host
- See the video here
IT CREEPS over the surface of its prey on ultra-thin fibres before striking.
Scientists have revealed for the first time how a virus infects a cell – which then becomes a host for the disease.
University of Texas researchers showed the virus extends fibre-like protusions that it usually keeps folded at the base of its head, then – according to science news service Phys.org – it behaves a "bit like a planetary rover", patrolling a cell to find an "optimal site for infection".
They have created an animation that shows the virus climbing over the surface of a cell on its 'legs' before using another protrusion to inject DNA into its 'host'.