Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Shake that virus like a Polaroid picture!

Scientists at Arizona State University are experimenting with different resonance frequencies to inactivate viruses by shattering the viral capsids much like the way an Opera singer can shatter a wine glass with a reverberating voice.

The scientists pulse a laser of a certain frequency and they can mechanically "break" the viral capsids. They've had a hard time finding which frequencies to use; it's a lot of trial and error, but they've found a frequency of 60 gigahertz is effective for the satellite tobacco mosaic virus.

A new way of inactivating viruses for vaccine development? Pretty cool stuff!

Check out the article here.

Shake it!

Lauren

No comments: