Zapping the virus

Zapping the virus

In what may be a breakthrough against Corona’s spread, a laser device will kill the virus in 50 msecs.

Even as the Novel Coronavirus fast mutates into new, deadlier variants since being discovered nearly one-and-a-half years ago, virologists and scientists are scurrying to keep pace and finding more potent ways to eliminate it. According to latest reports, a new laser device has been created in Italy that is apparently capable of obliterating the pernicious virus present within a structure’s boundary walls. Work on the machine project, developed by the scientists of the United Nations in collaboration with the scientists of an Italian tech company, the International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, and Altec K-Laser, a local company that makes laser equipment, respectively, was started last year when Italy was reeling under the COVID-19 pandemic. How does the instrument work? It’s quite simple, really. In the device, the air is passed through a laser beam that kills viruses and bacteria. And it is already getting noticed and winning accolades, too. “This device has completely changed the way I think about laser technology. It kills viruses in 50 milliseconds,” claims Serena Zakinya, the head of the Cardiovascular Biology Group at the International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology.

As a significant precautionary measure, keeping the areas within the boundary walls free from infection has proved to be a major challenge during the pandemic. A virus-free environment within the boundary walls has become a necessity to prevent the spread of the virus. However, there are Doubting Thomases, too. Some scientists say that the laser-based technology will not be safe to kill the virus. A study published in the Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology in November linked laser-based devices to the risk of cancer. But the equipment’s manufacturers have assured that there is no truth in these reports. They believe that the laser emanating from it never comes in contact with the human skin, so there is no risk of developing cancer. Claiming that it is a recycled product, the Altec founder has said that “our device uses nature against nature”. But the one drawback is that though viruses and bacteria can be eliminated in the air, the laser won’t be effective if they fall to the floor or any surface. The company, having already bagged a patent for this device which can also be installed in the air-conditioning unit, now plans to take it to the international market.