UV energy breaks down the protein.
and thanks Sean and Charles. I was a very poor student of organic chem, much better in the physics end of chemistry, and I salute you both!
If I'm reading correctly, HK has only two deaths total?
Todays report #42, Situation reports
Todays report #42, Situation reports
Attachments
Not sure where you got that from. I'm in a major city and to get out of my apartment block I just needed to smile at the official at the gate. Which I did fairly regularly to get some exercise. Its true there were few people out and about but I'd guess that's people being circumspect about their safety, not because 'nobody was allowed out'.
Lancet article on controlling outbreaks -- https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/langlo/PIIS2214-109X(20)30074-7.pdf
You can use enzymes to cut proteins into little pieces. You can also denature proteins (heat, vibration etc.) by disruption and possible destruction of both the secondary and tertiary structures (sort of unwinding the protein into a linear strand). The protein is not cut but has a different shape and therefore different function. I think you're thinking of prion proteins...(I really don't know much about those.)
I'm supply teaching today. Taking to the kids, there is very little interest or desire to talk about COVID-19. But then again this is a cosmo class and I'm suppose to be teaching these teenage girls how to cut hair and apply makeup... so I'm not sure how seriously they're taking me....
Washington state...getting close to Canada...
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That's right, proteins can be destroyed (or at least broken down or unfolded) chemically, enzymatically, or mechanical stress like heat or shock.
You are also correct about Mad cow disease. "Bovine spongiform encephalopathy" is unlike most unlike most other diseases that we know of. It is not a fungus, yeast, bacteria, or virus. It is a series of misfolded proteins that cause other, properly folded proteins to change their shape and accumulate with the growing prion proteins. In that way, it is sort of like a crystal where a tiny "seed" causes geometrically perfect layering, molecule by molecule out of solution, until you have a much larger solid with everything arrayed perfectly. So its not like bacteria, or fungus, or viruses that "try" to replicate to reproduce. They are just protein crystals that grow in the brain until it destroys the tissue. Prion diseases are a fascinating molecular accident.
The most interesting thing about them is that, unlike bacteria or viruses, heat won't hurt a prion particle! As CharlesDarwin said, heat disrupts and unfolds proteins into a shape that is useless to the organism; its called denaturing. Prion proteins are already misfolded, and auto-assemble into that shape. So heat doesn't deactivate them! So you can't cook Mad Cow out of a burger unlike ALL other diseases!
Sorry, I get excited about this stuff.
You are also correct about Mad cow disease. "Bovine spongiform encephalopathy" is unlike most unlike most other diseases that we know of. It is not a fungus, yeast, bacteria, or virus. It is a series of misfolded proteins that cause other, properly folded proteins to change their shape and accumulate with the growing prion proteins. In that way, it is sort of like a crystal where a tiny "seed" causes geometrically perfect layering, molecule by molecule out of solution, until you have a much larger solid with everything arrayed perfectly. So its not like bacteria, or fungus, or viruses that "try" to replicate to reproduce. They are just protein crystals that grow in the brain until it destroys the tissue. Prion diseases are a fascinating molecular accident.
The most interesting thing about them is that, unlike bacteria or viruses, heat won't hurt a prion particle! As CharlesDarwin said, heat disrupts and unfolds proteins into a shape that is useless to the organism; its called denaturing. Prion proteins are already misfolded, and auto-assemble into that shape. So heat doesn't deactivate them! So you can't cook Mad Cow out of a burger unlike ALL other diseases!
Sorry, I get excited about this stuff.
Good question, hard question, but a good question. We don't have perfect tests done on this particular variant, SARS-CoV-2. However, other related coronaviruses like SARS-1 and MERS (and the common cold) can last on "protected" surfaces for up to nine days according to some labs. However, it is MASSIVELY dependent on the conditions. Indoors in a cool, dry area away from light - maybe. In direct sunlight? Probably a few minutes at most, maybe even seconds.
The most practical answer actually is, it doesn't matter all that much. In general, it is more important to simply be proactive about cleaning rather than "waiting" for it to be safe. To decontaminate a surface, ethanol, 10-1 bleach in water, or lysol, etc should be more than sufficient to deactivate most viruses on most surfaces easily. Cleaning surfaces that have been in contact with the sick (for all airborne viruses) is a good idea. However, equal attention should be put for simple prevention procedures such as not touching things and then your face and keeping about 3 feet away from people are equally important!
Yup, they only have had a handful of cases compared to China itself. They are basically a very good example of how effective quarantine, decontamination, and isolation procedures can be when scientific and medical professionals have access to important information in a timely manner. That said, viruses couldn't care less about social and economic trouble and the toll is heavy. If we were smart, we would learn as much as possible from this outbreak to mitigate both pathogen spread and social obstacles for future disease. Because, I promise you, this is going to happen more and more often.
Containing Coronavirus In Hong Kong Comes At A Significant Cost : Goats and Soda : NPR
If you can't find a face-mask at your CVS, Walgreen's or Boots: In Case of Emergency, Please Remove Your Bra | Fox News
Seattle is only a stones throw from Vancouver, which had an outbreak first.
jeff
Really? I get my PCBs from China in 2 or 3 days via DHL, fully tracked, $ 20 per shipment.
Jan
I thought people were asked NOT to get the face-masks, because they won't be effective and it might cause shortage for where they are really needed - hospitals, senior living, etc.
Jan
Most of the stuff I order is between $5 and $20 so it doesn't make financial sense to pay for premium shipping. For most of these items, premium shipping isn't even available anyway.
In the past, huge delays (like an extra 4-6 weeks) were actually caused once the items hit Canadian soil in British Columbia. There was a huge backlog of stuff held up at Canadian Customs in the Richmond. It is faster for the standard "SpeedPak" items from China now, but I noticed that they are all getting flown into Montreal and then sorted and filtered into the domestic system from there. It is a huge improvement, but it still takes a minimum of 1 month.
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