3 ms·
My reverse osmosis water filter also has UV light to "kill" micro-organisms. I put kill in quotes because it doesn't actually kill them, but break up their DNA
by joshuaheard 6y ago
My reverse osmosis water filter also has UV light to "kill" micro-organisms. I put kill in quotes because it doesn't actually kill them, but break up their DNA so they can't reproduce.
- liability 6y agoI'm no biologist, but isn't DNA used for more than just reproduction? I'm under the impression that a living organism uses it's own DNA to guide the synthesis of various proteins needed by the organism to continue living. Destruction of this DNA could kill the organism, not merely render it infertile.
- dr_zoidberg 6y agoYou are right, damage to the DNA can kill an organism, if extensive enough. As for rendering it infertile, that's usually all that's needed to prevent bacteria from spoiling things (food, beverages, etc).
- peter422 6y ago“A reverse osmosis filter has a pore size of approximately 0.0001 micron” Attaching a UV to that isn’t killing anything. Nothing that can be killed is fitting through an RO membrane.
- thatcat 6y agouv could prevent biofilm formation on the membrane though; assuming the flow is UV -> RO.