Parallel computing strategies for determining viral capsid structure by cryoelectron microscopy

To calculate a full 3D structural model of a virus capsid, researchers analyzed cryoelectron micrographs that contain many randomly oriented images of the views. The authors use parallel computing techniques to improve the performance of the computational algorithms that determine each particle's orientation and generate the 3D model. This enhanced computational performance allows analysis of many more particles and a more precise determination of their orientations, letting researchers study important details of virus capsids at higher resolutions.