Salt Lake City – Researchers at the University of Utah have found that temperature has a major effect on the formation of particles that cause SARS-Cavi-2, the virus that causes Cavid-1, in a new study.
U.S. University of California, Davis working with researchers. Scientists have tested how temperature and humidity affect the formation of such particles on the surface and even a modest increase in temperature breaks down the formation of the virus.
The findings were published in a November 28 paper in the journal Biochemical Biophysical Research Communications.
The article was co-authored by Michael Vershinin, an assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Utah, and colleagues from the U.S., Abhiyanyu Sharma, Benjamin Press, Heather Swann, and Suez Sefarian. Varshini told KSL.com that the study has garnered national and international attention since its publication.
“We are very happy with the impact,” he said.
According to a U.S. news release about the findings, in order to remain infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, it is necessary to maintain a “specific web of proteins arranged in a certain order.” When that structure separates, the virus is difficult to transmit.
“You would expect a big difference in temperature, and we’ve seen that. Even in moderate temperatures, the packaging of the virus was completely destroyed,” Varshini said in the release. “Surprisingly, they needed a little heat to break them down – surfaces that are warm to the touch, but not hot. The packaging of this virus is very sensitive to temperature.”
Utah researchers not only studied the effect of temperature on the virus, but also created virus-like particles used in the study. This will allow them to study SARS-Cove-2 without the risk of an accidental outbreak. The process of creation was detailed in a separate paper published this month.
You would expect the temperature to vary a lot, and that’s what we’ve seen.
-Professor Michael Vershinin, University of Utah
“If you think about what a virus is, it usually has a genome and then it has a little bit of packaging,” Varshini explained. “The existence of a virus in the journey from host to host is, in many ways, related to how the genome is packaged. So it’s not 100% replica, but it’s a very good model for how the virus handles the environment.” The particles were essentially viruses without its genome.
Scientists have found that moisture has a very small effect on the surface, but they still believe that moisture transmission is affected when the virus is in the air.
“From the beginning, people have theorized that the big effect of moisture on the virus, and why it makes a difference, is because it affects how these aerosols dry out,” Varshini said.
SARS-COVI-2 rides on aerosol drops that come out when people speak, breathe, cough and sneeze; Scientists believe that these aerosols last longer in humid conditions and evaporate faster in dry conditions.
So does this study mean that coronaviruses are easier to transmit in cold climates?
“The impact of this work is potentially that,” Varshini said. Yet he warns that there are many steps between his research and proving it clearly. But U.S. studies “do not exist in a vacuum,” he said, and other research also suggests that.
Varshini said the U.S. The study is important because it detects the virus at a more granular and precise level than many others. “Putting it into a mechanism, that’s exactly how it happens – it shows that at least one method involves degrading the virus particles themselves, on an individual level. It’s very important because it really helps us understand what is happening. . “
He said scientists have made great strides in understanding the virus in such a short period of time, but believes that SARS-CV-2 and other coronaviruses will continue to be actively studied for years to come. “The virus is complex,” he said sadly. “Vaccines are not the end of inquiries, and not the end of questions.”
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