British Scientists Develop Nasal Spray to Help Cut Covid Risks

Researchers at Aalborg University screen and analyze positive coronavirus samples for the virus variant cluster B117 from the United Kingdom, in Aalborg, Denmark, Jan. 15, 2021. (AFP Photo)
Researchers at Aalborg University screen and analyze positive coronavirus samples for the virus variant cluster B117 from the United Kingdom, in Aalborg, Denmark, Jan. 15, 2021. (AFP Photo)
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British Scientists Develop Nasal Spray to Help Cut Covid Risks

Researchers at Aalborg University screen and analyze positive coronavirus samples for the virus variant cluster B117 from the United Kingdom, in Aalborg, Denmark, Jan. 15, 2021. (AFP Photo)
Researchers at Aalborg University screen and analyze positive coronavirus samples for the virus variant cluster B117 from the United Kingdom, in Aalborg, Denmark, Jan. 15, 2021. (AFP Photo)

British scientists have developed an anti-viral nasal spray that dramatically cuts the chance of catching Covid. Two pumps in each nostril protect for up to eight hours, say its inventors. They believe the spray, pHOXWELL, could play a vital role in providing more protection for vulnerable patients in hospitals and care homes – and encourage workers to return to the office, The Daily Mail reported.

NHS heart surgeon and entrepreneur Professor Rakesh Uppal, chairman of Raphael Labs, the firm behind the invention, said it was "a significant breakthrough", adding that "we now have an effective tool, previously missing, to fight this pandemic. Vaccination, while absolutely essential, is not 100 percent effective and it is still possible to become infected by and transmit the virus that causes Covid-19."

He said the spray offered extra protection on top of vaccines and personal protection equipment (PPE) because it inhibited this virus, Sars-CoV-2, from infecting the mucus membrane in the nose – the main entry point to the body.
The spray was trialed on more than 600 unvaccinated health workers in India at the peak of its early summer wave. Those who received pHOXWELL were two-thirds less likely to become infected with Covid over a 45-day period than colleagues given a dummy spray.

The main aim is to help protect millions of people in developing countries who have been unable to get a Covid vaccine. The spray is easy to transport and store, being stable at room temperature. But it could also benefit people who have been jabbed – as vaccination does not provide perfect protection from infection.

Oxford University chemist Professor Angela Russell, who is one of pHOXWELL's inventors, said: "We think something like the spray could help us get the country back on its feet."

People would be able to come together in enclosed spaces with more confidence. You could see having the spray in your bag as common as having pills like paracetamol in case you get a headache.

Laboratory studies found the spray – which contains an active substance that is lethal to certain viruses but otherwise harmless – killed Sars-CoV-2 in 30 seconds. This prevents it from getting beyond mucus in the nose and thus into the body. It was also active against flu, killing it within five minutes.



Scientists in Japan Develop Plastic that Dissolves in Seawater within Hours 

A researcher shows a sample of ocean-degradable plastic at the Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS) of Japanese research institution Riken in Wako, Saitama Prefecture, Japan May 27, 2025. (Reuters) 
A researcher shows a sample of ocean-degradable plastic at the Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS) of Japanese research institution Riken in Wako, Saitama Prefecture, Japan May 27, 2025. (Reuters) 
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Scientists in Japan Develop Plastic that Dissolves in Seawater within Hours 

A researcher shows a sample of ocean-degradable plastic at the Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS) of Japanese research institution Riken in Wako, Saitama Prefecture, Japan May 27, 2025. (Reuters) 
A researcher shows a sample of ocean-degradable plastic at the Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS) of Japanese research institution Riken in Wako, Saitama Prefecture, Japan May 27, 2025. (Reuters) 

Researchers in Japan have developed a plastic that dissolves in seawater within hours, offering up a potential solution for a modern-day scourge polluting oceans and harming wildlife.

While scientists have long experimented with biodegradable plastics, researchers from the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science and the University of Tokyo say their new material breaks down much more quickly and leaves no residual trace.

At a lab in Wako city near Tokyo, the team demonstrated a small piece of plastic vanishing in a container of salt water after it was stirred up for about an hour.

While the team has not yet detailed any plans for commercialization, project lead Takuzo Aida said their research has attracted significant interest, including from those in the packaging sector.

Scientists worldwide are racing to develop innovative solutions to the growing plastic waste crisis, an effort championed by awareness campaigns such as World Environment Day taking place on June 5.

Plastic pollution is set to triple by 2040, the UN Environment Program has predicted, adding 23-37 million metric tons of waste into the world's oceans each year.

"Children cannot choose the planet they will live on. It is our duty as scientists to ensure that we leave them with best possible environment," Aida said.

Aida said the new material is as strong as petroleum-based plastics, but breaks down into its original components when exposed to salt. Those components can then be further processed by naturally occurring bacteria, thereby avoiding generating microplastics that can harm aquatic life and enter the food chain. As salt is also present in soil, a piece about five centimeters (two inches) in size disintegrates on land after over 200 hours, he added.

The material can be used like regular plastic when coated, and the team are focusing their current research on the best coating methods, Aida said. The plastic is non-toxic, non-flammable, and does not emit carbon dioxide, he added.