- Like lots of people, I'm stuck at home
self-quarantining to stop the spread
of the novel coronavirus.
And since I can't get into a studio,
I figured I'd do an
experiment here at home.
This powder is a common teaching aid
that sticks to your
skin and other surfaces,
and it glows under UV light.
You've probably seen it
in a lot of other videos.
It'll demonstrate what
we normally can't see,
the movement of viruses like this one.
The coronavirus has a
highly effective technique
for jumping from person to person,
surfaces, you name it,
but it's also vulnerable
to some pretty basic cleaning regiments.
So let's see how easily it spreads
and what you can do about it.
The process that spreads the coronavirus
starts in the lungs and the throat.
- So they sort of fool the cell
and then your cell mistake
it as something useful.
And then they'll basically hijack the cell
for the purpose of the
spread of the virus.
- Hong Zhou is a microbiologist at UCLA.
He says, basically, the
coronavirus enters a cell
and multiplies, sometimes
millions of times.
All of those copies then spill
out into patients' airways,
and some of those copies end
up in tiny droplets of fluid.
Then, when the patient coughs or sneezes,
those droplets spray out onto tabletops
and railings, bus seats, food,
other people, you name it.
And each droplet can carry a heavy load.
- So you can do this calculation.
You can see that it could easily fit
thousands of virus particle each droplet.
Of course, you only need one.
You only need one virus to get infected.
- One really big way to break the chain
of transmission is hand washing.
Let's say I've been out and about all day
and I haven't been really careful
about where my hands have been.
I get home, I put my stuff away,
I pet the dog, I relax.
But you know what else I do a lot?
I touch my face.
- You seem to infect yourselves
either through your mouth,
through your eyes,
your nose.
So that's why it's so important
you don't touch your face.
- So you should try
touching your face less,
but washing your hands makes
those slip-ups less dangerous.
You've heard the recommendation before,
20 seconds of thorough
scrubbing with soap,
because soap, as it turns out,
is a pretty magical substance.
It contains detergent molecules
that surround and pull
apart fats, or lipids,
and lipids are partly what
coronavirus membranes are made of.
So when detergent molecules meet a virus
they force its membrane open,
tearing it apart and
rendering it inactive.
Experts also recommend cleaning
frequently used surfaces,
or at least studies show that coronavirus
can life on surfaces for days.
So remember my getting home routine?
Everything from my light
switches to my door
to my keyboard, my game controllers.
Even my dog glowed under the UV light.
Luckily, plenty of bleaches
and other household cleaners
also destroy the virus
particles in their own way.
Just don't use those cleaners on your dog.
The EPA has a list of
cleaners that will help,
and we've got them linked
in the description below.
To be clear, researchers still have a lot
to learn about this virus,
but what we just demonstrated
are best practices for lots of diseases.
So keep up to date on the news,
because we're going to be
learning more and more each day.
Lastly, follow the guidance
that applies to you for social distancing.
It's how we got into this
situation in the first place.
- I mean, all these things
started with a single virus,
in the entire world.
So we need to cut the chain of spreading.
So small things we do can help a lot.
