Researchers find that viral packaging motor rotates DNA and adapts to changing conditions

Viruses are the enigma of the biological world – despite having their own DNA and being able to adapt to their environment and evolve, they are not considered to be alive like cells. In order to reproduce and multiply – a requirement of "life" a virus must invade a living cell, eject its DNA into that of the cell, and commandeer the cell's biological machinery. While a virus, essentially, may be nothing more than a dollop of DNA packed into a protective coating of protein called a capsid, the packaging of that DNA is critical. The molecular motors that drive this DNA packaging process, however, have remained almost as enigmatic as the viruses themselves. A better understanding of these motors could be crucial to combating viral infections.