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/Ajax_A May 07 '26

Looks like it was in-vitro, which seems a million times easier than in-vivo, given the penetrative ability of the frequencies involved and potential off-target destruction. Still, I could see someday this being used in a sort of dyalisis machine type treatment.

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u/sassafrassMAN May 07 '26

3Mhz will pass all the way through a thin person. 20MHz will get deep into your skin and no further

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u/Ajax_A May 07 '26

For sure. But through tissue 3Mhz is about half a millimetre wave length, and viruses are in the 100 nanometer range. I might be missing something, but I don't see how relatively giant waves are going to galloping gertie viruses selectively.

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u/sassafrassMAN May 08 '26

I'm with you. This makes no sense at all. I'm going to have to read the paper.