One of the major ways we get sick is we touch surfaces out in the world, many made of metal or plastic. These surfaces are covered with germs. Germs live on poles on a train or bus. They are found on doorknobs and handles. This is especially true in hospitals. Bill Keevil is a microbiologist at Southampton University in Britain. He is investigating the properties of copper that kill germs -- or as researchers call them, pathogens. Keevil points to studies that compare infection rates at U.S. hospitals that use copper surfaces and those that do not. They found that copper alloys gave a 58 percent reduction in infection rate. So that showed, you know, that in the real world of a hospital environment, copper alloys do a great job (in preventing infection). In a study published in the journal mBio, Keevil and his team found that copper surfaces can quickly kill the coronavirus 229E. You may not know coronavirus 229E by name. But if you ever have had the common cold or the more serious pneumonia, you have been in contact with it.
Title: Copper Metal Kills Viruses on Contact
Content: <div id='article-page'><div id='article-content' data-media-url='//news-app-staging.s3.amazonaws.com' data-base-url='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/800/copper_audio.m4a' data-capture-url='//staging.analytics.lingraphica.com/events/capture_news' data-article-title='Copper Metal Kills Viruses on Contact' data-article-id='1207'><script src='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/javascripts/getscripts.js'></script><link rel='stylesheet' href='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/stylesheets/article.css' type='text/css' /><div class='article'><p><span data-start-time='0' data-end-time='9958'>One of the major ways we get sick is we touch surfaces out in the world, many made of metal or plastic. </span> <span data-start-time='9958' data-end-time='14188'>These surfaces are covered with germs. </span> <span data-start-time='14188' data-end-time='18521'>Germs live on poles on a train or bus. </span> <span data-start-time='18521' data-end-time='22125'>They are found on doorknobs and handles.</span> <span data-start-time='22125' data-end-time='26500'>This is especially true in hospitals.</span> <span data-start-time='26500' data-end-time='33688'>Bill Keevil is a microbiologist at Southampton University in Britain. </span> <span data-start-time='33688' data-end-time='43021'>He is investigating the properties of copper that kill germs -- or as researchers call them, pathogens.</span> <span data-start-time='43021' data-end-time='52646'>Keevil points to studies that compare infection rates at U.S. hospitals that use copper surfaces and those that do not.</span> <span data-start-time='52646' data-end-time='58125'>They found that copper alloys gave a 58 percent reduction in infection rate.</span> <span data-start-time='58125' data-end-time='65313'>So that showed, you know, that in the real world of a hospital environment, copper alloys do a great job (in preventing infection).</span> <span data-start-time='65313' data-end-time='77813'>In a study published in the journal mBio, Keevil and his team found that copper surfaces can quickly kill the coronavirus 229E.</span> <span data-start-time='77813' data-end-time='82375'>You may not know coronavirus 229E by name.</span> <span data-start-time='82375' data-end-time='90917'>But if you ever have had the common cold or the more serious pneumonia, you have been in contact with it.</span> </p></div><div class='control-buttons-sticky' style='display:none;'><div class='control-buttons'><button title='Back' class='back' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Play' class='play' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Pause' class='pause' style='display:none;'></button><button title='Forward' class='forward' disabled='disabled'></button><button class='finished-reading' style='display:none;'>Done</button></div></div></div><div id='article-media'><div id='media-image'><img src='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/800/cop_image.jpg'/></div></div><div id='question-content' style='display:none;'><div class='vocabulary_question question-container' data-question-id=5197 data-hint-location='33688' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/800/what_does_pathogen_mean.m4a'>What does pathogen mean?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='something that causes disease'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/800/extremely_good.m4a'><span>extremely good</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/800/something_that_causes_disease.m4a'><span>something that causes disease</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/800/a_change_in_the_genes.m4a'><span>a change in the genes</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/800/to_argue.m4a'><span>to argue</span></div></div></div><div class='multiple_choice_question question-container' data-question-id=5198 data-hint-location='33688' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/800/what_elements_properties_is_keevill_investigating.m4a'>What element's properties is Keevill investigating?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='copper'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/800/carbon.m4a'><span>carbon</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/800/hydrogen.m4a'><span>hydrogen</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/800/copper.m4a'><span>copper</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/800/zinc.m4a'><span>zinc</span></div></div></div><div class='sentence_completion_question question-container' data-question-id=5199 data-hint-location='52646' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/800/keevill_found_that_copper_alloys_reduced_the__blank__rate.m4a'>Keevill found that copper alloys reduced the <span class='blank'>infection</span> rate.</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='infection'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/800/infection.m4a'><span>infection</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/800/germ.m4a'><span>germ</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/800/death.m4a'><span>death</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/800/birth.m4a'><span>birth</span></div></div></div><div class='question-buttons'><button class='skip-button'></button><button class='hint-button'></button><button class='speak-button'></button></div></div></div>
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