Hi Carl et al., > It's my understanding that virii are dead. That's why antibiotics can't kill them. Virii are fractured dna particals whose danger is that the body tends to replicate them and cause problems. I don't know if that is true or not. Very good! That probably puts you in the 99th percentile of knowledge on this point. :) Viruses take different forms, but they are commonly DNA or RNA strands encased in a protein. When the protein attaches to a cell membrane and penetrates it, the genetic material enters the cell. The cell then replicates the genetic material and the protein capsules until it fills up with them and bursts. Then the replicated viruses attack other cells. Very nasty. Viruses are not killed but rather physically destroyed by UV light, pH changes, dehydration, temperature, etc. (They're also recognized and destroyed by our immune systems, of course.) To gain an appreciation of what happens to a virus when it dries up, wad up a piece of paper. Now "rehydrate" it by straightening it out. Does it look like new? <grin> Large organic molecules undergo nasty changes in conformation with heating, dehydration, pH changes, etc., such that they can't be completely straightened out later -- like a hopelessly tangled slinky. That renders them harmless. The final question is one of how much dehydration, temp change, pH change, etc. is necessary to hopelessly tangle the thing. On that issue, I know very little of this particular virus. Peace, Sarah Fox (OH)
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC