Rantburg

Today's Front Page   View All of Fri 04/26/2024 View Thu 04/25/2024 View Wed 04/24/2024 View Tue 04/23/2024 View Mon 04/22/2024 View Sun 04/21/2024 View Sat 04/20/2024
2020-03-26 -Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
Copper can kill a number of germs, including viruses like COVID-19
[Insider] While you may think that antiseptic wipes or sprays are necessary to kill germs, there's actually a metal that kills germs on contact ‐ no cleaning supplies necessary.

Believe it or not, the use of copper for health purposes dates all the way back to Ancient Egypt, and scientists today are still learning about the amazing benefits of copper. Here's what you need to know.

Copper does kill germs

Copper has antimicrobial properties, meaning it can kill microorganisms like bacteria and viruses. However, the microorganism has to come in contact with the copper in order for it to be killed. This is referred to as "contact killing."

According to Edward Bilsky, Ph.D., Provost and Chief Academic Officer at Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences, copper can kill germs in a few ways:

It disrupts bacterial cell membranes ‐ copper ions damage cell membranes or "envelopes" and can destroy the DNA or RNA of the microbe

It generates oxidative stress on bacterial cells and creates hydrogen peroxide that can kill the cell
It interferes with proteins that operate important functions that keep bacterial cells alive
The exact mechanism of how copper interferes with proteins in bacterial cells is not fully understood yet, but the current hypothesis is mis-metalation, thanks to the fact that copper is a stable metal.

"Mis-metalation is the ability of a metal to basically replace another metal," says Michael D. L. Johnson, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Immunobiology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson. "Copper can just replace some of the other metals that are present in some of these other proteins [in bacteria] and by doing so, it blocks the function of those proteins."

When you block a protein's function, it starts a bacteria-killing chain reaction. "By blocking the function of the protein, you block the function of the pathway. When you block the function of the pathway, you block the function of the organism, and then the organism is just dead in the water," says Johnson.

Copper can kill viruses and bacteria
Studies have shown that copper can kill many types of germs on contact. According to a 2015 study published in Health Environments Research and Design Journal, some of the common germs copper has been proven to kill are:
Posted by Besoeker 2020-03-26 09:59|| || Front Page|| [15 views ]  Top

#1 Study I saw had the virus living 8-24 hours on copper. Shorter than other materials, but still very hardy.
Posted by Iblis 2020-03-26 11:13||   2020-03-26 11:13|| Front Page Top

#2 Is copper still used on hospital door handles?
It should be.
Posted by Lex 2020-03-26 11:32||   2020-03-26 11:32|| Front Page Top

#3 Googling copper ceiling fan blades. Nothing found yet, may have to make my own.
Posted by Besoeker 2020-03-26 11:37||   2020-03-26 11:37|| Front Page Top

#4 NorK has proven kinetic copper jacketed injections are effective at stopping the virus...
Posted by Glenmore 2020-03-26 11:43||   2020-03-26 11:43|| Front Page Top

#5 Well, that would explain why Yemen wasn't hit by Covid.
Posted by g(r)omgoru 2020-03-26 12:18||   2020-03-26 12:18|| Front Page Top

#6 Copper has long been used in anti-fouling paint for boat bottoms. It has a welcome tendency to kill marine organisms that otherwise like to attach themselves to boat bottoms and thereby degrade boat performance. Environmentalists don't like it but they don't like it when invasive species hitch rides on boat bottoms into new harbors either. Dunno how it could be used against coronavirus but if you count pennies instead of washing your hands you might still be OK.
Posted by Abu Uluque 2020-03-26 13:15||   2020-03-26 13:15|| Front Page Top

#7 A lot of the newer door hardware, crash-bars and vertical 'touch surfaces' in Hospitals are using a copper alloy, Lex.

Haven't seen counter-tops or furniture with that yet, though.
Posted by Mullah Richard 2020-03-26 13:46||   2020-03-26 13:46|| Front Page Top

#8 Silver works too
Posted by Bright Pebbles 2020-03-26 13:47||   2020-03-26 13:47|| Front Page Top

#9 An argument for good old fashioned copper water lines rather than the new PeX tubing.
Posted by Warthog 2020-03-26 13:55||   2020-03-26 13:55|| Front Page Top

#10 Start sewing pennies into your N95s
Posted by USN, Ret.  2020-03-26 15:42||   2020-03-26 15:42|| Front Page Top

#11 Spent uranium can kill germs as well, but I ain't carrying any on me.
Posted by g(r)omgoru 2020-03-26 15:44||   2020-03-26 15:44|| Front Page Top

17:55 swksvolFF
17:45 Grom the Reflective
16:31 jpal
16:02 Beldar+Uneter3543
16:01 M. Murcek
15:59 Super Hose
15:43 Procopius2k
15:42 Procopius2k
15:39 49 Pan
15:37 M. Murcek
15:36 M. Murcek
15:28 Dale
15:28 Grom the Reflective
15:27 Dale
15:26 M. Murcek
15:23 Dale
15:15 Beldar+Uneter3543
15:02 Besoeker
15:00 Uleremp and Company7042
14:59 NoMoreBS
14:54 Uleremp and Company7042
14:42 Grom the Reflective
14:42 Uleremp and Company7042
14:41 swksvolFF









Paypal:
Google
Search WWW Search rantburg.com