Killing germs in air ducts…

A system that can be used to zap airborne agents such as anthrax with ultraviolet light that works by destroying their DNA or making them unable to multiply? Yes, its being tested now by Bio-Defense Research Group, a startup in Columbai, MD. According to an article in today’s Washington Post, the company’s CEO said “the product has achieved a 100 percent neutralization rate for anthrax spores in tests using a government-approved bacterial stand-in for anthrax.”

A lot of places where people are packed close together may be interested in this system (to be on sale by the end of this year) including hospitals, hotels, sports arenas, cruise ships, schools and more. The Defense department is a favorite target for sales efforts.

It will be interesting to see how much our fear of danger from outside inadvertently contributes to the advancement of bioscience–perhaps even faster than could have been hoped.