Understanding SARS-CoV-2 and the Drugs That Might Lessen Its Power
14th March 2020
Viruses aren’t considered to be alive in the technical sense, but are more like nano-robot warheads that operate strictly by mechanical-chemical operation — once they bump up against a target cell, something on the outside of the virus binds to something on the outside of the cell and this event triggers the remaining processes that proceed automatically.
If you look at the diagram accompanying this article, you’ll see that the ‘payload’ of the virus is contained in a ‘lipid membrane’. Apparently hand-washing and other cleaning methods are effective against the coronavirus because soaps and other surfactants destroy this ‘lipid membrane’ and cause the virus to disintegrate. (It doesn’t ‘kill’ the virus, which isn’t really alive, but the effect is much the same.)
UPDATE: SARS-CoV-2 Point of Entry Into Cells Captured by Cryo-EM
UPDATE: How Long Does the Coronavirus Last on Surfaces?
UPDATE: A human monoclonal 1 antibody blocking SARS-CoV-2 infection