UV Radiation Can Kill Coronavirus.

• Position: COVID-19

A specific wavelength of ultraviolet radiation killed more than 99.99% of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in laboratory tests at Ohio State University, Columbus.

The results could offer an encouraging option for inactivating the virus that causes COVID-19 from surfaces or, potentially, from the air. It is the first study to demonstrate that specific doses of UV222, a relatively short wavelength of ultraviolet radiation, may be a feasible and safe approach to disinfecting COVID-19.

"The special thing is that this wavelength is effectively absorbed by the SARS-CoV-2 genome and the proteins of the virus, and because of that, it was likely able to damage the proteins that perpetuate the virus infection cycle--and we think that's why this is so effective," says lead author Natalie Hull, assistant professor of civil, environmental, and geodetic engineering.

The findings mean that UV222 could be a safe way to disinfect spaces contaminated by COVID-19, the researchers indicate.

"This is the first time anyone has done something with the real virus, and as best we can tell, this is a wavelength that's safe for humans--and so, theoretically, this could be a way of decontaminating that would be safer for...