12b09
SCIENCE
2022 December 19, 20
Level: High
Light That Kills Microbes
by Elizabeth Koroma
Researchers are developing lamps that could stop the spread of disease
19
Owing to the recent pandemic, researchers have been on a quest to find more ways to kill viruses, and one result of their work involves light.
It has long been known that ultraviolet (UV) light can destroy microbes such as bacteria and viruses. It is already used as a cleaning agent in hospitals and to purify air and water – but only when people aren’t around. That’s because there are three types of UV light: UVA, UVB and UVC, and they are all detrimental to humans. UVA and UVB exposure can lead to skin cancer, while UVB is responsible for sunburns. UVC light is mostly absorbed by the Earth’s atmosphere, but it is even more dangerous. Artificial UVC light can pass through the outer layer of skin and eye cells to damage the living cells underneath.
However, there is a type of UVC light, known as far-UVC, which does not pass through the outer layer of cells. But studies of the long-term effects of far-UVC on humans, as well as studies on groups comprising more than 20 people, are not yet available.
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