Can we “kill” a virus 🦠?

 

I often talk and write about inactivating viruses, something we do a lot at NIB using different methods: from cold plasma ⚡ (with IJS) to chitosan 🦀 (with the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering).

 

But what does it actually mean to inactivate a virus?

When we talk about living organisms, we can mention some of their wonderful characteristics like growth 🌱, reproduction, and generally functioning on their own.

 

Viruses, on the other hand, lack these traits.

 

What they do is sneak their way into a host cell (human viruses into human cells, plant viruses into plant cells, and so on) and hijack the cell’s machinery.

 

Once infected, the cell stops doing its normal job and starts producing viruses instead. Over time, this can lead to disease that can be quite severe, even fatal.

 

So basically, viruses need their host to do, well, anything at all (they’re quite needy like that).

 

But if we prevent viruses from causing disease, for instance by stopping them from entering cells or taking over the cell’s machinery, we’ve successfully inactivated them!

 

👉 So, to answer the main question: no, we can’t “kill” a virus, because technically it isn’t alive.

But we can absolutely inactivate them, and we’ve done so many times ✨

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September 2025

🌊 Have you ever swum in the sea so clear that it seemed empty?

 

But if we took a closer look (preferably under the electron microscope), we would see that this could not be further from the truth.

Because every drop is filled with life — microbial life 🦠.
There are millions of viruses in every milliliter of seawater (in addition to everything else).

But do not worry, most of them are the good guys, and they have important jobs to perform.

For instance, many of them are first-class nutrient cyclers. They destroy microorganisms such as bacteria, releasing nutrients like carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus. The released nutrients are taken up by the remaining (and still happily living) bacteria and other prokaryotes. These are eaten by zooplankton, which are eaten by sea animals, and so on.

So, viruses in the sea are not only useful but crucial (they are responsible for the release of gigatonnes of nutrients every year 😮).

To understand what is happening in different matrices, at NIB (National Institute of Biology) we are searching for viruses everywhere. If we find some that are problematic, we inactivate them with our environmentally friendly technologies.

Do you know why we say that we inactivate and not, let us say, kill viruses? Stay tuned 😉

 

August 2025

✨ If you take a really close look at the video, you can see many small lights flashing in the darkness

 

It felt kind of like a red carpet. Or maybe an airplane runway. In any case, it was amazing.

I don’t remember the last time I was surrounded by so many fireflies. 🌌

 

🔬 How do they do it?

Through the magic of bioluminescence—the ability to produce light.

They use an enzyme called luciferase, which catalyzes a two-step process that results in the production of light.

To make it work, they also need oxygen.

By controlling the amount of oxygen, they control their flashes:

oxygen = light 💡
no oxygen = no light ⬛

 

🧠 Why do they flash?
For different reasons, including protection from predators (I am dangerous, do not approach) or to call their potential mate (single and ready to mingle) ❤️

 

🔁 Can they control their flashes?
Yes, they can regulate them based on outside light stimuli, even artificial light (maybe something to try next time you encounter them?)
This phenomenon is called entrainment, and it helps with their communication and mate attraction.

 

🌿 Nature, being amazing as it is, has quite a few organisms capable of producing light.

 

July 2025

What is the colour of the lake?

 

First thing that probably pops into your mind is blue.

 

But if you’re talking about the Pink Lake of Torrevieja in Spain, it can be – as the name reveals – pink!

 

What causes this?

Just some fantastic microorganisms doing their thing and being alive. 🦠

 

They include haloarchaea* and the algae Dunaliella salina, both of which fancy a little bit of salt – and they get plenty of it from the lake, which contains a high amount, similar to the salinity of the Black Sea. 🧂

 

When you combine this with lots of sun and high temperatures ☀️, these microorganisms start producing a pigment called β-carotene. This pigment acts like a knight in shining armor, protecting them from harmful radicals – and it also gives the lake its pink colour.

 

But that’s not all. This pigment also causes tiny shrimps to turn pink – and who eats these little shrimps? Flamingos! 🦩 That’s why their feathers turn pink too.
All thanks to these tiny, microscopic life forms.

 

Spain’s pink lake isn’t alone – these salty, colorful wonders pop up on almost every continent, giving scientists something fascinating to explore.

 

*Members of the archaea domain are in many ways similar to bacteria, but different in others – for instance, they’re often found in more extreme environments.

 

May 2025