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Viruses are very intolerant to high temperatures since they are
believed to have originated from outer space as many scientists in
astro-biology are convinced
Deep Freeze
in Suspended Animation:
Originally viruses such as coronaviruses remain “hibernated”
as pre-life molecules or in suspended animation for at least 3.6 – 4.0 billion
years in the frigid of interstellar space where I believe they came from, and definitely
not spontaneously generated by or from bats, or artificially created in a laboratory.
The CMB (Cosmic Microwave Background) temperature in outer
space after the Big Bang is no higher than just 3 Kelvin (3.0 degrees above
absolute temperature) or 2.72548±0.00057 Kelvin to be exact, and at such
temperature all molecular movements almost totally freeze, and where all “life”
and pre-life can remain eternally latent
Habitable
Earth:
There they remain in deep, deep freeze in the frigid of
outer space for almost all eternity until they arrive on a horrendously long, dark,
cold and lonely journey to Earth from
the Ort Cloud or brought along by passing
comets to shower Earth with their virus-laden cosmic dusts like seeds being thrown and sowed on soft,
ambient, water-rich grounds on this
planet to germinate and multiply among the
myriads of living hosts and the profusion
of biodiversity such as birds, camels, bats and the pangolins that entertain
them.
Bite the
Hand that Feeds:
However, if they jump hosts from animals to humans in a
zoonotic manner and threaten humans for our “hospitality”, we humans will
generate unfavorably conditions for their multiplications such as a fever as an
immunological response.
It is a tit-for tat retort Nature provides us for our survival as prescribes by the natural biological laws of selection and evolution.
It is a tit-for tat retort Nature provides us for our survival as prescribes by the natural biological laws of selection and evolution.
Hence, it is extremely crucial that once a fever is elicited
by the body it should never be suppressed by any antipyretics (drugs that subdue
fever) such as using paracetamol or aspirin, but the fever be left alone or even
encouraged by a warm bath provided it is not too high to cause fever convulsions.
A fever is purposely induced by the body to fight an
infection and should not be interfered with by using drugs to suppress this natural
physiological response to any infection, unless it is too high that can cause febrile
seizures and epilepsy especially in children.
Febrile seizures in
children normally begins when the body temperature is raised from 33.4 ± 0.16
°C to 40.74 ± 0.13 °C (the seizure-threshold temperature) and seizure can begin
in 2.9 min.
In such event, the body (oral) temperature can be sponged
down by tepid or cool water to manageable levels between 37.5 – 36.9 0
C depending on age between 0 – 2 years till over 65 respectively.
Climate
Temperature and Covid-19 Spread:
We can also observe a much higher prevalence rate of the
current pandemic distribution of the coronavirus infection in the colder winter climates like in China, United States and Europe compared to the warmer tropical countries like Malaysia and the
entire SE Asia where infection rates, degrees
of morbidity and mortality rates are much lower during the winter months between December 2019
and currently in May 2020 when the pandemic spread fast - if we are scientifically observant enough.
This hypothesis of temperature-infection relationship is
also observed by scientists in a study at the prestigious MIT that warm, humid
climate is linked to a slower COVID-19 transmission here:
A study by researchers from Sun Yat-sen University in China also
suggest the same that corona virus may spread
faster in colder weather here:
As a former medical research scientist myself who previously
worked at MIT, I too concur with them, and also my conviction from my further
post-doctoral education and training and understanding in Evolutionary Biology
at the University of Cambridge in 2019, and also in Astronomy and Astrobiology from
the University of Oxford also in 2019
Reasons Why Heat Destroys:
We are not sure at this point in time exactly how heat and
temperature affect the virus, let alone know
the exact temperature needed to inactivate the virus.
What we do know are from studies conducted by scientists at both the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, United States of America, and at
the Sun Yat-sen University, a major
Chinese public research university located in Guangzhou, China where it was shown that warm weather immobilizes and slow
down the spread of the virus, while cold
weather accelerates its spread.
We have already gained this knowledge from reputable studies
by scientists from these two very prestigious world class universities. We have
to accept their findings.
Clearly their studies showed there is a relationship between
the temperature, and probably the
humidity in the air as well, and the
activity of the coronavirus, in that hot
air or the environment slows down or may have killed the virus, while cold air
such as the prevailing winter in China, United States and the entire Europe towards
the end of December 2019 till May 2020 activates and mobilizes the rapid spread
of this virus.
This relationship seems quite clear to us as scientists, and
probably to some educated and highly intelligent members of the public who may also
be observant.
We are Unsure:
But what we are unsure is the range of temperatures on which
heat can either activate, kill or immobilizes the coronavirus, and the
mechanisms how heat plays a role.
In chemistry we know that heat actually accelerates a chemical reaction, but in a biological activity extreme heat inactivates and destroys all life
Existing Knowledge in Food Science:
However we can only infer from existing knowledge we already
know in food science, and / or in nutritional sciences, as well as from what we
know in chemistry and biochemistry that heat greatly affects the molecules of
proteins in foods, chemistry and biological function in general.
This may be exactly the same mechanism that have affected the protein envelope that protects the corona virus.
Denaturation of Proteins:
For instance, we already know that heat denatures the
proteins in foods by disrupting and possibly if the temperature is high enough,
destroys both the secondary and tertiary structures of the proteins.
However if the heat is mild to moderate, the protein will still be denatured, but the denaturation reactions will not be strong
enough to break open the peptide bonds which is the primary structure in the sequence
of the amino acids.
In other words, the chemical nature of the protein remains the
same after denaturation. It only disrupts
the normal alpha-helix and beta sheets in a protein and uncoils it into a
random shape. In short it is a physical change.
In chemistry, we know that heat disrupt the hydrogen bonds
and non-polar hydrophobic interactions.
What happens is that heat increases the kinetic energy and
causes the molecules in any substance inclusive of protein and RNA structures
as found in the virus to vibrate so rapidly and violently that the bonds are
disrupted. That may have broken up the virus infectivity very effectively?
Damaging Nature of Heat:
Heat is very damaging to most biological materials inclusive
of all microorganisms, and probably all viruses as well because of their very
simple and short chain protein and genomic sequence.
For instance, food and nutrition scientists and even among
lay people and ordinary housewives know that when an egg is being boiled, within
just less than a minute the white of egg has already coagulated.
In fact even just in hot water the white of egg has already
become opaque or coagulated. This is denaturation of the egg albumin. Everyone has
already observed and knows this – even an ordinary housewife or even a child
has seen this.
The albumin or white of egg, the major source of protein turns
solid when fully boiled. The proteins in
the egg start to coagulate as the temperature rises. The albumin or egg whites
coagulate at 60°C, the egg yolks at 65°C, and the entire egg is completely
denatured with full coagulation occurring at 70°C.
The same mechanism occurs when meat is cooked. It shrinks in size. As the temperature rises, the proteins
coagulate and shrinks further as the muscles fibres lose water causing the
meat to become harder and chewy if heat
is applied too long. This is food science.
Likewise we can sterilize any equipment such as surgical
instruments by heating them to denature and destroy the proteins in bacteria.
Coagulation is irreversible process and the proteins cannot
be reversed into their liquid form.
Another example is heating milk. When heated just below boiling point, a skin
forms. This is due to the milk protein
coagulating.
Applied Knowledge:
If we then apply our existing knowledge in chemistry,
biochemistry, food science and nutritional sciences, we can also extrapolate the same knowledge to
explain the same in virology and in microbiology on the reasons why heat is extremely damaging to
all biological materials especially their enzymes, nutrients, vitamins, genetic
materials, and of course the proteins we have just explained and discussed.
Translation of Food
Science into Virology:
This knowledge we can safely translate onto the viruses and
coronaviruses (antigen) the reason(s) why their
protein coat is very sensitive
and protective to them especially to heat and thermal shock.
After all, according to the Panspermia theory life or pre-life
forms may have existed from another form and seeded onto Earth after a very,
very cold, long and dark journey through outer space where these pre-life
molecules were used to almost absolute zero Kelvin for a few billion years, and
they may not be able to tolerate extreme heat on arrival into our world This
was already mentioned earlier.
What We Still Do Not
Know:
Any disruption to this very fragile and sensitive protein coat
of the virus, be it just through denaturation by mild heat, or total destruction by high temperatures, and
how this may affect the virus activity, and mobility - just like
the studies showed how hot
and cold climate affects the spread of
this virus as demonstrated by researchers at MIT and at Yat-sen University
still needs further studies
We have little understanding at this point in writing on the
degrees of chemical damage heat may have on both its protein structure and the RNA configurations and sequencing of the virus
This virus is very new to us in Science and there is a lot
of work still to be done
