Resumen de Getting a handle on germs
In the wake of pandemic viruses like Ebola, Bird and Swine Flu and the intestinal bug E. coli, health services around the world have launched campaigns such as the "Catch it. Bin it. Kill it." campaign, focusing on handwashing to help reduce the spread of cold, flu and other viruses. The NHS, which backs the campaign, states that unwashed hands are the biggest spreader of germs, even in the home.
One solution is Simon Wong Sum-ming's and Michael Li Kin-pong's self-disinfecting door handle. The two teenagers, aged 17 and 18, presented their invention at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Pittsburgh, US in June, winning a $1,500 award for the design.
To test the effectiveness of the door handle before the Intel science fair, [Li] and [Wong] set it up in a male restroom at their school, CCC Tam Lee Lai Fun Memorial Secondary School, in Tuen Mun in the New Territories, Hong Kong. After swabbing the handle at 45 minute intervals, laboratory tests showed that 99.8% of germs that came into contact with it were killed.
