SASKATOON -- For the first time in its history, the Canadian Light Source in Saskatoon has closed its doors because of COVID-19.
Scientists remain inside, however, helping to lead the world in research to fight the pandemic.
"When you shine a light that's brighter than the sun, with all the colours of the universe on something, you see things you never saw before," CEO Rob Lamb said.
"When you see those movies where you have some molecule that's turning on a computer screen, places like this and certainly here, we actually produce these pictures."
The incredibly bright lights, produced by the half a billion dollars’ worth of equipment in the facility and facilities like it around the world, have revealed that COVID-19 is not all that different from other viruses we’ve seen.
"The structures of these things are similar,” said Lamb. “It's the subtleties within the structure of a particular molecule that makes it lethal."
Robotic arms are constantly shining that bright light on samples of the virus, looking for different variations in its structure. The more perspectives scientists can get of the virus, the better chance they’ll have to combat it.
"We need to be able to pull many options through the light, and do it over and over again until we focus in on where the issue is," said Lamb.
Because there are so many different variations and perspectives at the molecular level, Lamb says a timeline for any sort of vaccine or cure is difficult to pinpoint. The Canadian Light Source is undergoing upgrades to its equipment in an effort to be better understand COVID-19 and be prepared for future outbreaks and pandemics.
"We want to reduce the options,” said Lamb. “So that the next time this happens we're actually ready to be able to go straight in and do these things."
