COVID-19 can be vulnerable to ultrasonic vibrations within the frequencies used in medical diagnostic imaging, scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology noted.

According to News-medical.net, experts have modeled the mechanical response of the virus to vibration in the ultrasonic frequency range. It turned out that vibrations from 25 to 100 megahertz caused the virus envelope and spike proteins to break down, breaking apart in fractions of a millisecond. This effect was seen when simulating the response of the virus in air and water.

It is a question of a mechanical reaction to vibration. Scientists started with vibration of 100 MHz, which is conventionally recognized as native to the virus. Initially, no changes were noticed at this frequency. But within a fraction of a millisecond, external vibrations, resonating with the natural frequency of the virus, forced the envelope and spike proteins to bend.

As the researchers increased the amplitude or intensity of the vibrations, the risk of rupture of the envelope of the virus increased. At lower frequencies - 25 MHz and 50 MHz - the virus deformed and destroyed even faster.