Right now masks are our last-line of defense against the coronavirus. The one and only thing that can give us a glimmer of hope, a fighting chance against an unseen enemy. But soon they’ll also be our first-line of defense. On the front lines actually fighting back and killing COVID-19 on contact. Providing us with the ultimate layer of protection.
Explains BGR:
“Researchers from the University of Kentucky are working on an outer face mask layer that could include a membrane featuring enzymes that would be able to capture and kill the virus. The enzymes would attach to the SARS-CoV-2 component that binds to human cells — the protein spikes — and separate them. The virus would be killed on contact.
‘The novel coronavirus is covered in club-shaped ‘s-protein’ spikes, which give it its crownlike, or coronal, appearance,’ chemical engineering professor Dibakar Bhattacharyya told Newsweek. ‘The protein spikes are also what allows the virus to enter host cells once in the body. This new membrane will include proteolytic enzymes that will attach to the protein spikes of the coronavirus and separate them, killing the virus.'”
A mask that kills the coronavirus on contact is just the latest in a long line of recent mask innovations. There have been 3-D printed masks – even ones specifically designed to fit your exact face. Some have been redesigned with deaf people in mind. Others have been redesigned with partying in mind. They have been made from unusual materials like bacteria and contained unnatural items like built in sensors. But a mask that kills viruses on contact takes the cake as the most innovative and most important of them all. It just doesn’t get any better than that.
Is a mask that kills the coronavirus on contact the Greatest Idea Ever?
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