Scientists have long theorized that the herpes virus is so stuffed with genetic material that it explodes its genetic material straight out of its virus shell and right into its desired host.
Carnegie Mellon University researchers now have the first experimental evidence that a eukaryotic virus, a virus that can infect cells with a nucleus, can do it too. They’ve also been able to measure the pressure.
The herpes simplex virus type 1 contains a double strand of DNA 400 times longer than the radius of its capsid, the protein shell that holds it. As a result, the DNA bends on itself to fit inside, creating a huge amount of pressure on the viral shell–tens of atmospheres, around eight times the internal pressure of a car tire.
Read the full, original story here: Herpes Virus Shoots DNA Into Human Cells With Crazy High Internal Pressure
