Back in March, a study on how long the coronavirus lasts on surfaces fueled what one author called “the great fomite freakout.” People scrubbed everything from mail to groceries.
It's time to reassess. Here’s what we now know about surface spread 1/ wired.trib.al/mDdeApF
The March study found the virus was present after a few hours on cardboard, and after several days on plastic and steel. But researchers were careful to say that they only tested how quickly the virus decayed in a laboratory setting, not whether it could still infect a person 2/
Since then, additional studies have painted a picture that is much more subtle and less scary. One clear takeaway is that, given an adequate initial dose, the virus can linger for days or even weeks on some surfaces—like glass and plastic—in controlled lab conditions 3/
The second consistent finding is that there’s plenty of evidence of the virus on surfaces in places where infected people have recently been. Viral RNA has been found at outbreak sites and locations where people have quarantined 4/
It’s tempting to piece those two elements together: If the virus is on the surfaces around us, and it also lasts for a long time in lab settings, naturally we should vigorously disinfect. But that doesn’t necessarily reflect what’s happening 5/
In one recent study, researchers left virus samples out for days on various surfaces in lab conditions and found they could culture the remaining virus in tissue. In other words, it remained infectious 6/
Then they gathered samples from highly contaminated environments: Covid-19 isolation wards at a hospital, and at a hotel used for people in quarantine. The virus was abundant. But when they tried to culture those samples, none were infectious 7/
Another confounding factor is saliva. Spit-test studies suggest some viral proteins denature faster than others, and that the virus as a whole may not remain infectious. Saliva is also less hospitable to pathogens than the synthetic substances often used in lab-based studies 8/
It also helps to consider the extraordinary chain of events that would need to happen to successfully spread SARS-CoV-2 from a surface. First, a sufficiently large amount of the virus would need to be sprayed by an infected person onto a surface 9/
The surface would need to be the right kind of material, exposed to the right levels of light, temperature, and humidity so that the virus does not quickly degrade. Then the virus would need to be picked up—which you would most likely do with your hands 10/
But the virus is vulnerable there. And then it needs to find a way inside you—usually through your nose or your eye—in a concentration big enough to get past your mucosal defenses and establish itself in your cells. Simply put, the risk is low 11/
Of course, low risk is not no risk. There are high-touch objects that merit disinfection. People at high risk from Covid-19 may want to take extra precautions. But the best advice for breaking that object-to-nose chain? Wash your hands 12/ wired.trib.al/mDdeApF
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A Letter from WIRED's Editor: Ever since Elon Musk dove headfirst into backing Donald Trump’s presidential bid last year—to the tune of $280 million in contributions—WIRED has been tracking the billionaire’s political exploits and growing sphere of influence within the GOP and the Trump administration more specifically. We’ve been sourcing up, talking to people within and around federal agencies, as well as experts in disciplines including cybersecurity, AI, medicine, and more, about Musk’s potential impact.
What would Musk do, we wanted to understand, once Trump took back the White House on January 20? How would our government—and our country —change with Trump at the steering wheel and Musk riding shotgun?
Now the world, and WIRED, are finding out. The entire WIRED newsroom, from editors and reporters to fact-checkers and photo editors, has been working relentlessly to unearth new information about what exactly Elon Musk and his allies are doing across federal agencies, and to what end. What is changing, how, and what are the consequences? Amid the findings of our reporting, one overarching fact has become extremely clear: Musk is now in the driver’s seat, and he is implementing sweeping, shocking, and largely unchecked changes across the entirety of our country’s federal apparatus.
If you’ve been wondering what Elon Musk and his lackeys are up to since taking control of the US government, look no further. Our latest story names six 19- to 24-year-olds working with his DOGE organization, which now has access to sensitive federal systems. wired.com/story/elon-mus…
We’ve also been tracking more former Musk employees who have infiltrated the Government Services Administration: wired.com/story/elon-mus…
Workers at GSA and Technology Transformation Services (TTS) have been summoned into what one source called “sneak attack” meetings to discuss their code and projects with total strangers—some quite young: wired.com/story/elon-mus…
EXCLUSIVE: An analysis of 3.6 billion coordinates reveals the detailed movements of US military and intelligence workers, moving from nuclear bases to brothels, a WIRED analysis with @BR_Presse and @netzpolitik_org reveals. wired.trib.al/B3fHoSG
The findings provide vivid examples of the significant risks the unregulated sale of phone location data by US data firms and how they can pose a risk to the integrity of its military and the safety of its service members and their families overseas. wired.com/story/phone-da…
Experts caution that this poses a risk as it could give access to foreign governments that could use this data to identify individuals with access to sensitive areas, give criminals the ability to see where US nuclear weapons are least guarded and more. wired.com/story/phone-da…
EXCLUSIVE: Canvassers for California representative Michelle Steel are suing the congresswoman's campaign, America PAC, and others, alleging that they were promised hourly wages, then told pay would depend on how many doors they knocked.
The named plaintiffs were canvassers for Steel in October of this year, according to the suit, which alleges that they weren’t paid agreed-upon wages. America PAC is named because it provided campaigning services for Steel. wired.com/story/elon-mus…
These allegations are different from those WIRED reported earlier this week, when canvassers in Michigan said they were tricked and threatened as part of Elon Musk and America PAC’s get-out-the-vote effort for Donald Trump
NEW: Constitutional sheriffs are duly elected lawmen who believe they answer only to god. They've spent the last 6 months preparing to stop a "stolen" election.
It's a warning: 10 days out from the election, they'll do anything to make sure Trump wins. wired.com/story/constitu…
“Sheriffs are really beholden to nobody,” says Pelfrey. “Once elected, a sheriff has tremendous power, and there have been sheriffs who have been convicted and still hold office."
In nearly one in three US counties, sheriff departments are the largest law enforcement agency, meaning sheriff’s offices are the primary law enforcement agency for 56 million people. wired.com/story/constitu…
EXCLUSIVE: JD Vance's financial policy adviser Aaron Kofsky posted on Reddit for years about the use of cocaine, 'gas station heroin,' and other drugs.
Posts also show he instructed users on how to transport drugs through TSA.
Aaron Kofsky has for years posted extensively on Reddit about using a variety of drugs, including cocaine and opiates, under the username PsychoticMammal.
According to his LinkedIn, Kofsky has been advising JD Vance since this past May.
These drug-related posts have continued while Kofsky has been employed by the Senate. In May 2022, for example, PsychoticMammal responded to a post in the r/Cocaine subreddit, giving advice on how to smuggle drugs past airport security.