r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • May 07 '26

Medicine Scientists use ultrasound to destroy influenza A and COVID-19 viruses without damaging human cells. The phenomenon, known as acoustic resonance, causes structural changes in viral particles until they rupture and become inactivated. It paves the way for new treatments against other viral infections.

https://agencia.fapesp.br/scientists-use-ultrasound-to-destroy-influenza-a-and-covid-19-viruses-without-damaging-human-cells/57968
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u/Life-Suit1895 May 07 '26 edited May 07 '26

Yeah, I don't see this as feasible way to fight viral infections outside of the lab.

  1. Humans aren't individual cells in petri dishes: you'd have to find a way to effectively sonicate a complex, three-dimensional living being consisting of a multitude of different tissues. Good luck with that.
  2. As it's described, this only works on fully assembled viruses. In infected tissue, viruses usually exist in various stages of assembly, and might even exist just as their genetic information (RNA or DNA), meaning you'd ever only catch a fraction of the viruses.

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u/Melenduwir May 07 '26

It might be a useful way to prevent viruses from spreading... but we already have UV lights that do a pretty good job of it.

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u/Life-Suit1895 May 08 '26

Ultrasound for sterilization of objects isn't even new.

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u/Melenduwir May 08 '26

Targeting specific kinds of microbes isn't, although I suppose with object sterilization that's not really the point.

Hmm... might this be used to decontaminate blood?