A team of scientists from Russia and Uzbekistan found that weak doses of radiation (such as X-rays) can destroy the coronavirus.
An original mechanism of Auger-destruction of the virus hereditary molecule when exposed to low doses of soft X-rays was proposed," says Anatoly Zatsepin, professor at the UrFU, head of the research laboratory "Physics of functional materials of carbon micro- and optoelectronics". - The essence of this pioneer idea is that the huge RNA molecule of this virus, when it gets into the human cell, has to deform strongly in many areas along its length. It turned out that the deformed spots along the RNA molecule were a thousand times more sensitive to radiation exposure than those of healthy cells. From this it followed that small doses of radiation, destructive to the virus, would be absolutely safe for healthy cells.
"This method is designed not only for Covid-19 viruses, but also for other viruses, in particular for its mutations. As physicists, we develop and analyze the mechanisms of radiation effects at the micro level, while biologists and medics help us understand how this affects the human body as a whole. At the same time, in light of recent events, it should be noted that no mutations in the virus that prevent fighting it with biological methods at all affect the effectiveness of the radiation method by the Auger-destruction mechanism."
Scientists plan to determine whether the proposed mechanism is dominant in all likely situations or not.
Source: Low doses of radiation destroy coronavirus
An original mechanism of Auger-destruction of the virus hereditary molecule when exposed to low doses of soft X-rays was proposed," says Anatoly Zatsepin, professor at the UrFU, head of the research laboratory "Physics of functional materials of carbon micro- and optoelectronics". - The essence of this pioneer idea is that the huge RNA molecule of this virus, when it gets into the human cell, has to deform strongly in many areas along its length. It turned out that the deformed spots along the RNA molecule were a thousand times more sensitive to radiation exposure than those of healthy cells. From this it followed that small doses of radiation, destructive to the virus, would be absolutely safe for healthy cells.
"This method is designed not only for Covid-19 viruses, but also for other viruses, in particular for its mutations. As physicists, we develop and analyze the mechanisms of radiation effects at the micro level, while biologists and medics help us understand how this affects the human body as a whole. At the same time, in light of recent events, it should be noted that no mutations in the virus that prevent fighting it with biological methods at all affect the effectiveness of the radiation method by the Auger-destruction mechanism."
Scientists plan to determine whether the proposed mechanism is dominant in all likely situations or not.
Source: Low doses of radiation destroy coronavirus