The potential of the electron microscope

In 1938, Helmut Ruska, a German physician and biologist, saw the potential of the electron microscope in the application to the field of biology. Helmut collected images, including the variola virus (which causes smallpox) and presented images of the virus particles at a meeting of the Medical Society of Berlin.

Nearly 80 years later, the electron microscope can identify all kinds of pathogens. There are an estimated 1.67 million viral species yet to be discovered.