@vikramml @RealVladivostok Stephen Chen is a sensationalist.
60°C for one hour is usually enough for roughly a 5-log reduction in PFU terms in CoVs (see my post above).
Hence, starting with >100,000 viral particles could still allow infecting cells afterward.
@vikramml @RealVladivostok Gross appearance need not be altered during thermal inactivation, which involves thermal denaturation of key proteins.
90°C for 10 minutes reliably inactivates CoVs, including SARS-CoV-2.
@vikramml @RealVladivostok I am unsure why the article even bothered mentioning that the Spike protein wiggles. All proteins wiggle.
Spike count varies. The D614G mutation increased it by roughly a factor of 5, increasing infectivity. It is now carried by the majority of SARS-CoV-2 samples.
@vikramml @RealVladivostok The Kellermayer paper on atomic force microscopy of individual SARS-CoV-2 virions is here:
biorxiv.org/content/10.110…
It is true that SARS-CoV-2 is particularly compressible and elastic. Influenza viruses are somewhat similar, but stiffer (more internal reinforcement).
@vikramml @RealVladivostok It isn't clear what practical significance this may have, if any, and it isn't apparent whether this is any different from any other coronavirus. I doubt it.
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