Soil science research aims to prevent future pandemics
ENVS professor Dr. Luisa Ikner teams up with College of Public Health to determine longevity of viruses in soil.
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https://envs.arizona.edu/news/soil-science-research-aims-prevent-future-pandemics
How can University of Arizona scientists conduct virus research in ecosystems from around the world without leaving Tucson? The answer: Biosphere 2(link is external).
Dr. Luisa Ikner(link is external), Assistant Professor in the Environmental Science Department, is co-leading an investigation with Dr. Marc Verhougstraete of the College of Public Health(link is external) into how long viruses can survive within soils from various ecosystems.
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Normally, this would require collecting soil samples from around the world, and then recreating those conditions in a lab back in Arizona. Instead of travelling the globe, the research team has access to the world’s largest controlled-environment research facility at Biosphere 2.
The project is currently in Phase 1 and will provide information on how quickly model viruses that are not harmful to humans die-off within soils, and whether their presence impacts bacterial communities.
Phase 2 will follow to assess how long viruses survive on synthetic surfaces, biotic surfaces, and in different water systems at Biosphere 2. If Phases 1 and 2 reveal minimal impacts then Phase 3 will commence, which includes a controlled aerosolized release of the viruses to measure transport, spread, and survival under different environmental conditions throughout the facility.