Written by Naman Anil Kumar, a grade 7 student

Have you ever wondered if there is a natural substance that kills the germs?

If your answer is no then you are wrong. Copper can kill any type of bacteria. Are you shocked? This is a well-tested and proved statement. You don’t need antiseptic wipes or sprays to kill bacteria. If all the things are made of copper in your house then you are 100% safe from bacteria.

Copper has an antimicrobial property that can kill the bacteria. This is also called as contact killing.

According to Sir Edward Blisky Chief Academic Officer at Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences, copper can kill bacteria in a few ways:

1. The cell membrane of the bacteria gets damaged..
2. RNA and DNA of the microbe get destroyed.
3. The copper reacts with oxygen and it produces stress on the cells of the bacteria, which makes them inactive.

It’s not very clear how this happens, but it seems to happen through a process known as “mis-metalation”, which is the ability of a metal to replace another metal. When you block protein function, the bacteria stop killing our bodies.

Studies have shown and proved that copper has killed:

1. MRSA
2. E. coli
3. Influenza A
4. Norovirus

Research has found that Coronavirus can only last on Copper for 4 hours – it lasts for  72 hours on plastic.

Copper can kill viruses but when it is on the outside surface. It cannot kill a virus when it is in our body.

Hopefully, more research will be conducted, so we can better understand the antimicrobial properties of copper and the most effective ways to use it in everyday life to keep us healthy.

Written by Naman Anil Kumar
Naman is a grade 7 student at Orchids International School. He loves music and theater and  Kannada literature. He wants to be an actor when he grows up. His favorite authors are Roald Dahl and Kuvempu. 

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