Virus laser treatment

Sunday Mirror, Jul 29, 2007

VIRUSES lurking in human blood could be killed off with an intense pulse of visible laser light.

The pulse produces mechanical vibrations in the virus shell, irreversibly damaging and disintegrating it, and so "deactivating" the virus for good.

The technique might be used to kill HIV, as well as hepatitis C, say the US researchers involved.

Of the other methods of destroying viruses, UV irradiation can cause mutations which eventually make the micro-organisms resistant and can also damage the DNA of surrounding healthy cells.

Microwaves have also been tried but they are absorbed by heating the surrounding water leaving little to attack the virus.

The researchers say the short (0.0000000000000001 seconds) pulses of purple coloured light destroy viruses while leaving cells unharmed.