We know the coronavirus. We know what it can do, how infectious it is, and how we can defend ourselves from it. But how many people truly understand the science behind the virus? This article will explain to you the exact science of the virus and why the protective measures that we always hear about are effective.
The Family
What we know as the “coronavirus” is actually a part of a family of coronaviruses (CoVs) and this family consists of viruses that cause intestinal and respiratory sickness in animals. There are actually seven different known types of coronaviruses that have infected people. Obviously, COVID-19 is one, but SARS and MERS were also caused by viruses that are part of the coronavirus family.
The severity of the symptoms caused by coronaviruses can vary immensely, starting from a mild cold to severe respiratory symptoms, exhibited by both the SARS and MERS epidemics.
So what do these little coronaviruses exactly look like? The coronaviruses are essentially little spherical shells that contain genetic material, with protein spikes connected to the outside membrane layer of the virus. These spikes of protein are the key player in why they are so infectious. They allow the virus to bind, enter, and take over the cells in our body. Fortunately, these spikes are also helpful to us, because they help our immune systems detect and identify the viruses. Currently, these spikes are also being used as a way to develop vaccines and antibodies against the current epidemic. Inside this membrane is the genetic material of the virus, otherwise known as the genome. Typically viruses usually have genomes that consist of DNA, similar to that of the human cells. However, the genetic material of coronaviruses consists of RNA, which allows them to change and mutate more frequently than their DNA counterparts. Scientists believe that this is the reason why the virus was able to mutate from a virus that infects the cells of bats to a virus that could also infect humans.
Where does the name ‘coronavirus’ come from?
An interesting fact; the spikes mentioned in the previous paragraph are the reason behind the name. These spikes on the virus give it a very distinctive appearance from other viruses. It makes the virus look like it has a crown on (so ‘the King of Viruses’ would be a fitting name). In Latin, ‘corona’ means crown, which is why it is called the coronavirus.
Why are we told what we are told?
Before moving on, we need to understand how viruses stay viral. In simplest terms, viruses need to hijack another cell in order to function and reproduce. Without a host cell, viruses won’t be able to cause any sickness in the host organism. However, even if the viruses don’t invade other cells, they can still stay viral for long durations. As they find their host cell, they remain the body of the host organism. This is why we are told that the coronavirus won’t show symptoms until around 2 weeks after contact: the viruses are spreading, but they simply aren’t actively invading the cells until after the 2 weeks.
We also need to understand how our hands allow entry for the viruses into the body. According to the study made by Kowk, Gralton, and McLaws, people touch their own faces around 23 times per hour, which amounts to a daily average of 552 touches. Of these touches, 44 percent involved touching a mucous membrane, or the mouth, noses, or eyes. This means that the average human touches allow viral entry for viruses on their hands around 243 times per day. This is the reason why we are told not to touch our own faces. Sneezing into our elbows is also crucial because it will keep the viruses off our hands, which comes into contact with other objects and humans much less frequently than our hands do.
What does washing your hands do?
Finally, we get to the science behind washing our hands. According to Kelli Jurado, a virologist at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, washing our hands is “simply the best method to limit transmission”. If you properly wash your hands, there are several ways scrubbing your hands together can combat the virus.
The first way washing hands is effective is the way we all know— the rubbing and scrubbing “physically removes pathogens* from your skin. “ says Shirlee Wohl, a virologist at John Hopkins University.
The second way it’s effective is by incapacitating the viral envelope. The coronavirus, and all other viruses, have a coating on the outside that allows it to bind to other cells and ultimately invade them. These envelopes consist of fatty substances, and soap molecules also contain fatty substances. When these fatty substances interact and come to close proximities with each other, they break each other up, causing the virus to have an incapacitated envelope and inability to bind to human cells.
*pathogen- any microorganism that can cause illness
What do hand sanitizers do?
Hand sanitizers work in a slightly different way. They also target the viral envelope of these viruses, but instead of breaking up the contests with brute force, the alcohol(isopropyl alcohol or ethanol) in the hand sanitizer distorts the chemical properties of the envelope. According to Benhur Lee, a microbiologist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the alcohol causes the viral envelope to be “less stable and more permeable”.
The alcohol attack does not just stop there. After weakening the surface, the alcohol penetrates the envelope, attacking and breaking down the proteins that are inside the virus, ultimately inhibiting the virus from functioning properly.
According to Lee, “should not be considered a replacement for soap and water.” Although hand sanitizer may be effective at sterilizing the germs on your skin, it will not clean them off as effectively as simply soap and water.
Next time you're counting to 20 while washing your hands, don’t ever second guess yourself, because the power of washing your hands correctly has been proven scientifically numerous times. Now that you know exactly what the enemy is, you can now stay inside and fight the virus.
Works Cited
Thebault, Reis. “Stop Touching My Face? Why the Easiest Way to Prevent Coronavirus Is so Hard.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 3 Mar. 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2020/03/03/coronavirus-prevention-face-touch/.
Sauren, Lauren M. “What Is Coronavirus?” What Is Coronavirus? | Johns Hopkins Medicine, 5 June 2020, www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus.
“What Are Coronaviruses?” UKRI, 25 Mar. 2020, coronavirusexplained.ukri.org/en/article/cad0003/.
Comments