1. What about copper gives it its antiviral properties?
2. Can we make masks out of copper to prevent the spread of viruses?
3. You talked about how norovirus can be removed using soap, but if soap targets the lipid coating and norovirus doesn't have one, how would soap work on the norovirus?
4. There has been a recent study by USC where they tested antibodies in a random sample to see how many people had the virus at some point. The preliminary results show that the infection rate is much higher (at least in that county) than was previously thought. That means the death rate is significantly lower! Do you have opinions about this test and the results? Could a lower death rate justify opening the economy back up?
5. What I got from the bat article was that bats may have diseases that are harmful to humans but there's scant evidence and it doesn't matter since humans are unlikely to come in contact with them anyway. Before reading this article, I was not scared that a bat would give me a disease, but now that fear has emerged. Bats are a common occurrence in Bowman-Carter hall. Is this something to be worried about? Should we be taking more care not to come in contact with them?
1. Copper atoms are molecular grenades! They produce what are called free radicals and reactive oxygen species that can destroy any other biological molecule.
2. there are some masks made out of copper but their effectiveness is not proven. AND copper can cause toxicity
3. by simply washing away the virions
4. maybe. Yes, the infection rate is probably much higher than we thought but we have not reached herd immunity yet.
5. Just leave them alone; bats are pretty harmless but people don't like them. I, however, think bats are spectacular!