SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19 or "Chinese Virus" / March 18, 2020 by Adrian Galli

To preface this article, I’m not advocating calling it the “Chinese virus.” It most definitely is not its name.

Starting with some basics, viruses typically get names by several criteria but it is also important to know that the name of virus and the disease they cause are different. An example one might be familiar with is HIV vs. AIDS. HIV, human immunodeficiency virus, eventually causes AIDS, acquired Immune deficiency Syndrome.

SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 also operate in the same fashion. SAR-CoV-2 is actually the name of the virus. It stands for ‘severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2’ while COVID-19 is the disease that it causes, or ‘corona virus disease 2019’ (WHO 2020).

Other items that could influence the naming convention is what type of virus (Coronavirus), where it was first identified (Ebola virus), people involved (Lou Gerhig’s Disease—although it is technically ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), what it’s impact (HIV), and the year it was first identified (2019).

While some of these things have been accurate in the past, the World Health Organization, WHO, advises against naming viruses based on their location to prevent the stigma and inevitable association with virus in the public mind (Thuburn, 2020). I would propose the supposition that naming a virus/disease after a person is similarly discouraged.

While Trump has called it “Chinese virus” and many have argued that “Chinese virus” is accurate it is in fact wrong—some might call it racist because of the tone in which it is used. But to put a fine point on it, one, the virus already has an official name. Two, ‘Chinese’ suggests relating to China or its language, culture, or people or suggests that they made/invented it when in fact, quite certainly, epidemiologist have concluded that the coronavirus has its origins in bats (CDC, 2020). And three, assuming the place first discovering the virus is going to be used for the naming, China is the location and more specifically Wuhan.

However, ‘China virus’ is a bit broad. Ebola virus, for example, is named after a river in the Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly known as Zaire. Karl Johnson of the CDC and leader of the Ebola research team suggested the be named after the river to ease the emphasis on the village of Yambuku where it originally was discovered (Gholipour, 2014). One might suggest then ‘Wuhan virus’ is more appropriate but there are at least 17 other Wuhan viruses that infect creatures from crickets to mosquitos and are mostly harmless to humans (Gorvett, 2020).

“Chinese virus” is not only politically incompetent, and that has nothing to do with being a ‘snowflake’ (should such a derogatory term be meaningful anyway). “Chinese virus” is simply incorrect and causes unnecessary conflict during a situation where clarity of communication is of upmost importance.

The virus has a name and it is SARS-CoV-2 and the disease is COVID-19. We need not discuss it further.

Accuracy Matters.™

Sources:

Gholipour, Bahar (2014, October 9). How Ebola Got Its Name. Retrieved from
https://www.livescience.com/48234-how-ebola-got-its-name.html

World Health Organization (WHO) (2020, February 11). Naming the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the virus that causes it. Retrieved from
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/technical-guidance/naming-the-coronavirus-disease-(covid-2019)-and-the-virus-that-causes-it

Thuburn, Dario (2020, February 12). WHO Has Finally Named The New Coronavirus. Retrieved from
https://www.sciencealert.com/who-has-finally-named-the-deadly-coronavirus

Gorvett, Zaira (2020, February 16). The Tricky Politics of Naming a New Coronavirus. Retrieved from
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200214-coronavirus-swine-flu-and-sars-how-viruses-get-their-names

Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2020, March 17). Situation Summary. Retrieved from
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/summary.html

Chemistry of Sanitation / March 14, 2020 by Adrian Galli

With the recent pandemic of COVID-19, my place of work has taken on the great task of increasing the sanitation of our work environment. Aside from placards encouraging better hands washing hygiene, alcohol wipes, and more, a nifty item called Toucan was added too.

I had not been in for several days and one of my co-workers said, “Have you seen the Little Toucan?” I was confused at first because they know of my love of birds (of which I own two) and have jokingly encouraged me to buy a toucan. But, in fact, the Toucan is a sanitation mister.

It was presented to me that all you do is fill it with water and add salt. To which I replied, “that does nothing.” Everyone jumped on me essentially telling me I didn’t know what I was talking about. One co-worker said, “leave it to the scientist.”

Let’s be clear, I spent a lot of time in chemistry—in another life I would have gone into biochemistry but, alas, I am a scientist and explorer in a non-traditional sense. However, I do know what this device was doing but they didn’t not know and only could read a card telling them that it makes sodium hypochlorite. One person said it was, “space age technology!” Really just basic chemistry.

Oh! So this salt water has an electric current sent through it. Yes, now this makes sense. That is a process called electrochlorination whereby salt, water, and energy create sodium hypochlorite (bleach) and hydrogen gas.

Here is the equation:

NaCl + H₂0 + Energy ⟶ NaOCl + H₂

When everyone said in chemistry, “I’ll never need to know this,” some of us paid attention and understand the universe a little differently. This is also an experiment one can do in their own home with little danger.

Bonus: NaCl (sodium chloride a.k.a. table salt) is not the only kind of salt. Any compound with a cation (from an acid) and and anion (from a base) is a salt.

To Wash or Not To Wash Your Chicken — Science in the Kitchen / December 25, 2019 by Adrian Galli

My colleagues and I have many hearty discussions about many topics. I’m the scientist in the crowd and discuss the logic, methodology, and science behind (or against) things like the Keto diet, flu vaccines, and, in this case, whether one should wash chicken before cooking.

Many has stated you must (!) wash it first to prevent illness. But, to put a fine point on it, that simply isn’t true.

Washing chicken is dangerous and increases the likelihood of illness and contamination. According to the the Center for Disease Control (CDC), they explicitly state, “Do not wash raw chicken.” They go further to write, "During washing, chicken juices can spread in the kitchen and contaminate other foods, utensils, and countertops.”

On the other hand, some claim you should wash your chicken with lemon juice or vinegar to cleanse the meat of pathogens. While vinegar (acetic acid, C₂H₄O₂) and lemon juice (citric acid, C₆H₈0₇) generally have a pH range between 2 and 3 and there is such a thing as chemical cooking, vinegar/lemon juice should remain a marinade or flavoring.

Acid can be a disinfectant but when discussing chicken and salmonella, for example, the bacteria isn’t just found on the surface of the meat but also inside. One might ask why beef can be eaten rare while chicken is safest eaten well done or an internal temperature of 74°C (165°F)? The pathogens that make beef (steak) dangerous are found on the surface of the meat while pathogens that make chicken unsafe are found throughout. This is also why ground beef is safest when cooked well done as the surface pathogens have been mixed into the ground meat. Acid, vinegar and lemon juice, does not penetrate the surface of the chicken to the extent that it cooks the chicken thoroughly.

Heat (fire), however, is a very powerful tool for disinfecting meat. While some bacteria, for example, are thermophiles (the thrive is hot environments), bacteria in food that threaten human health like salmonella and E. coli are easily thwarted by temperatures exceeding 65°C (150°F) and 70°C (160°F) in minutes, respectively.

With the holidays, potlucks, and dinner parties upon us, take your time in the kitchen and take sanitation seriously. A little science can go a long way and enjoy your chicken with a lemon marinade I’ve used for years.

Lemon Chicken Marinade: