The smallpox virus under a microscope

The smallpox virus magnified approximately 370,000 times. The ‘dumbbell-shaped’ structure inside the smallpox virion is the viral core, which contains the viral DNA. This DNA acts as the blueprint by which the virus replicates itself once it is released into the host cell.

Smallpox was one of the worst diseases to affect human beings. It killed around three out of every 10 people who caught it, until it was finally controlled by a vaccine more than 50 years ago.