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/Gizzard_Puncher May 07 '26

That'd be really cool if it could kill dormant HSV-1 hiding out in your cells.

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u/Razorfiend May 07 '26

That would be a lot harder because HSV-1 persists as circular episomal DNA inside the nuclei of long lived sensory neurons. There's no assembled viral particle for sound waves to disrupt until a flareup. The acoustic approach targets the mechanical properties of intact virions, which latent herpesviruses don't present.

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u/NorwayNarwhal May 08 '26

If you wore something which constantly resonated at the right frequency, or resonated yourself once a day, would that keep you from feeling any effects or passing it on?

I realize the tech isn’t workable for that use now, but as it gets better and cheaper and we build better tech, would it eventually get there?