Coronavirus Gets Tested
Physicists tested empty coronavirus shells under different weather conditions. The research, conducted at The University of Utah, was designed to help health officials understand how the new coronavirus will react as the seasons change. One major question about the virus, which causes a disease called COVID-19, is whether summer will do anything to slow the spread.
“We’re making a faithful replica of the virus packaging that holds everything together. The idea is to figure out what makes this virus fall apart, what makes it tick, what makes it die,” said Vershinin, assistant professor of physics and astronomy and co-principal investigator of the grant. “This is not a vaccine. It won't solve the crisis, but it will hopefully inform policy decisions going forward.”
"Coronavirus spreads similarly to the influenza virus — as small mucus droplets suspended in the air … Viruses lose infectivity because the particles lose structural integrity," University of Utah physicist Saveez Saffarian said in a statement. "The physics of how the droplets evolve in different temperature and humidity conditions affect how infectious it is."
What is a Virus?
Definition of Virus: an infectious agent of small size and simple composition that can multiply only in living cells of animals, plants, or bacteria. (Brittanica)
Viruses are not able to "do anything" on their own, as they are simply shells with genetic instructions tucked inside; when a virus invades a host's cells, it uses that cell's machinery to replicate itself, over and over again.
