The transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is likely comodulated by temperature and by relative humidity.

Inferring the impact of climate upon the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 has been confounded by variability in testing, unknown disease introduction rates, and changing weather. Here we present a data model that accounts for dynamic testing rates and variations in disease introduction rates. We apply this model to data from Colombia, whose varied and seasonless climate, central port of entry, and swift, centralized response to the COVID-19 pandemic present an opportune environment for assessing the impact of climate factors on the spread of COVID-19. We observe strong attenuation of transmission in climates with sustained daily temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius and simultaneous mean relative humidity below 78%, with outbreaks occurring at high humidity even where the temperature is high. We hypothesize that temperature and relative humidity comodulate the infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 within respiratory droplets.

Angular correlations of photons from solution diffraction at a free-electron laser encode molecular structure.

During X-ray exposure of a molecular solution, photons scattered from the same molecule are correlated. If molecular motion is insignificant during exposure, then differences in momentum transfer between correlated photons are direct measurements of the molecular structure. In conventional small- and wide-angle solution scattering, photon correlations are ignored. This report presents advances in a new biomolecular structural analysis technique, correlated X-ray scattering (CXS), which uses angular intensity correlations to recover hidden structural details from molecules in solution. Due to its intense rapid pulses, an X-ray free electron laser (XFEL) is an excellent tool for CXS experiments. A protocol is outlined for analysis of a CXS data set comprising a total of half a million X-ray exposures of solutions of small gold nanoparticles recorded at the Spring-8 Ångström Compact XFEL facility (SACLA). From the scattered intensities and their correlations, two populations of nanoparticle domains within the solution are distinguished: small twinned, and large probably non-twinned domains. It is shown analytically how, in a solution measurement, twinning information is only accessible via intensity correlations, demonstrating how CXS reveals atomic-level information from a disordered solution of like molecules.

Three-dimensional coherent X-ray diffractive imaging of whole frozen-hydrated cells.

A structural understanding of whole cells in three dimensions at high spatial resolution remains a significant challenge and, in the case of X-rays, has been limited by radiation damage. By alleviating this limitation, cryogenic coherent diffractive imaging (cryo-CDI) can in principle be used to bridge the important resolution gap between optical and electron microscopy in bio-imaging. Here, the first experimental demonstration of cryo-CDI for quantitative three-dimensional imaging of whole frozen-hydrated cells using 8 keV X-rays is reported. As a proof of principle, a tilt series of 72 diffraction patterns was collected from a frozen-hydrated Neospora caninum cell and the three-dimensional mass density of the cell was reconstructed and quantified based on its natural contrast. This three-dimensional reconstruction reveals the surface and internal morphology of the cell, including its complex polarized sub-cellular structure. It is believed that this work represents an experimental milestone towards routine quantitative three-dimensional imaging of whole cells in their natural state with spatial resolutions in the tens of nanometres.

Coherent diffraction microscopy at SPring-8: instrumentation, data acquisition and data analysis.

Since the first demonstration of coherent diffraction microscopy in 1999, this lensless imaging technique has been experimentally refined by continued developments. Here, instrumentation and experimental procedures for measuring oversampled diffraction patterns from non-crystalline specimens using an undulator beamline (BL29XUL) at SPring-8 are presented. In addition, detailed post-experimental data analysis is provided that yields high-quality image reconstructions. As the acquisition of high-quality diffraction patterns is at least as important as the phase-retrieval procedure to guarantee successful image reconstructions, this work will be of interest for those who want to apply this imaging technique to materials science and biological samples.

Quantitative 3D imaging of whole, unstained cells by using X-ray diffraction microscopy.

Microscopy has greatly advanced our understanding of biology. Although significant progress has recently been made in optical microscopy to break the diffraction-limit barrier, reliance of such techniques on fluorescent labeling technologies prohibits quantitative 3D imaging of the entire contents of cells. Cryoelectron microscopy can image pleomorphic structures at a resolution of 3-5 nm, but is only applicable to thin or sectioned specimens. Here, we report quantitative 3D imaging of a whole, unstained cell at a resolution of 50-60 nm by X-ray diffraction microscopy. We identified the 3D morphology and structure of cellular organelles including cell wall, vacuole, endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, granules, nucleus, and nucleolus inside a yeast spore cell. Furthermore, we observed a 3D structure protruding from the reconstructed yeast spore, suggesting the spore germination process. Using cryogenic technologies, a 3D resolution of 5-10 nm should be achievable by X-ray diffraction microscopy. This work hence paves a way for quantitative 3D imaging of a wide range of biological specimens at nanometer-scale resolutions that are too thick for electron microscopy.

Three-dimensional structure determination from a single view.

The ability to determine the structure of matter in three dimensions has profoundly advanced our understanding of nature. Traditionally, the most widely used schemes for three-dimensional (3D) structure determination of an object are implemented by acquiring multiple measurements over various sample orientations, as in the case of crystallography and tomography, or by scanning a series of thin sections through the sample, as in confocal microscopy. Here we present a 3D imaging modality, termed ankylography (derived from the Greek words ankylos meaning 'curved' and graphein meaning 'writing'), which under certain circumstances enables complete 3D structure determination from a single exposure using a monochromatic incident beam. We demonstrate that when the diffraction pattern of a finite object is sampled at a sufficiently fine scale on the Ewald sphere, the 3D structure of the object is in principle determined by the 2D spherical pattern. We confirm the theoretical analysis by performing 3D numerical reconstructions of a sodium silicate glass structure at 2 A resolution, and a single poliovirus at 2-3 nm resolution, from 2D spherical diffraction patterns alone. Using diffraction data from a soft X-ray laser, we also provide a preliminary demonstration that ankylography is experimentally feasible by obtaining a 3D image of a test object from a single 2D diffraction pattern. With further development, this approach of obtaining complete 3D structure information from a single view could find broad applications in the physical and life sciences.