Microwaves Kill Bacteria

Microwaves Kill Bacteria

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/27/health/27real.html

Microwaving your sponge will actually kill harmful bacteria that can cause food-borne illnesses. Numerous studies have been done on this subject. Most bacteria are killed within the first 15 seconds of being microwaved. Other more resiliant bacterial, like E. coli, will survive up to 30 seconds. But this can be a dangerous operation. Unless the sponge is damp, it has been known to start on fire. It is reccomended not to place your sponge in microwave, but buy a new one; it is much safer.

Microwaves are a form of electromagentic waves. Water absorbs the energy from the electromagnetic waves and aligns itself with them, this is because water is a polar molecule. This molecular movement causes heat. This process is what kills the bacteria.

Was smallpox really transmitted by Blankets?

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/13/science/13mqa.html?ref=health

Scientists are trying to determine if a virus, like smallpox, can be transmitted from a scab to a person. There is a myth that the Europeans infected the Native Americans with smallpox by giving them blankets covered in smallpox. The only way this could actually happen is if the blanket contained smallpox scabs. Viruses have the ability to live in a scab longer than in a “wet” form like droplets. But now we do not have to worry about contracting small pox because it has been eradicated, thanks to vaccinations.

But, there are still some samples left in high security labs around the world being used for research. This is possible by refrigeration. Refrigerators have the ability to freeze the virus and keep it. Refrigerators function by electrons giving energy to a metallic part which creates the motor. This is electromagnetism in action. Not to mention most refrigerators can be induced to being magnetic conductors by placing magnets on them.