Physicists at Arizona State University say they have developed a method to calculate the exact frequency that it would take to shake a virus to death, according to an article published in the journal Physical Review Letters.
Researchers have discovered that when viruses are bombarded with laser pulses of the right frequency, they shake apart. This arises from an inherent characteristic of all objects called a “resonant frequency,” which is the frequency at which an object naturally vibrates.
Resonant frequencies are the key to stringed instruments, in which a string of a certain material, thickness and length has a resonant frequency that produces a specific musical note. But resonant frequencies can also cause objects to shake so uncontrollably that their stability is undermined, as when a wind shook the Tacoma Narrows Bridge at its resonant frequency in 1940, causing it to collapse.
Because the shell of a single virus can contain millions of atoms, it is difficult to calculate a given virus’ resonant frequency except by trial and error. But in the current study, researchers successfully calculated the resonant frequency of a simple satellite tobacco necrosis virus. The next step for the researchers is to determine if the same technique will work for other, more complex viruses.
Although practical applications are probably a long way off, vibrational antiviral treatments have a number of benefits over chemical approaches. First of all, while many antiviral drugs are very harsh on the body and have dangerous or debilitating side effects, the frequencies used to disrupt the viruses should have no effect on human or even bacterial cells, which are much larger and consequently have significantly lower resonant frequencies.
In addition, because a resonant frequency is an inherent characteristic of a virus’ makeup, researchers say it is unlikely that resistance to it could develop.
Among the obstacles toward creating vibrational antiviral therapy is the fact that lasers have trouble penetrating the skin. Researchers have suggested that ultrasound could be used instead, or perhaps a dialysis-type machine that cycles of blood out of the body, irradiates it, then cycles it back in.
RESOURCE/SOURCE: www.naturalnews.com on 8/14/08
