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All we need to know about masks in one pic: (Original Post) kpete May 2020 OP
That's powerful evidence. k&r n/t Laelth May 2020 #1
I'm curious to know exactly what cultured from the without mask cough, PoindexterOglethorpe May 2020 #2
mr pete kpete May 2020 #5
Thank you. That's very helpful. PoindexterOglethorpe May 2020 #6
We all have colonies of what are called normal flora Warpy May 2020 #27
Not sure why it matters. Ms. Toad May 2020 #8
It may not matter a great deal, PoindexterOglethorpe May 2020 #19
Pretty sure that the rate of growth in a petri dish Ms. Toad May 2020 #20
I don't assume that it is. PoindexterOglethorpe May 2020 #21
Virus won't grow on an agar petri dish. LisaL May 2020 #24
I didn't say they did. Ms. Toad May 2020 #26
It took at least 18-24 hours to show these results. sir pball May 2020 #30
Whatever she cultured, it's a bacteria, not a virus. LisaL May 2020 #22
Right. I'm somewhat aware of that. PoindexterOglethorpe May 2020 #25
I just posted this on my Facebook time line page..... ProudMNDemocrat May 2020 #3
I just did too! Chemisse May 2020 #12
Wow! I had to change my FB post to public so others could share it. Chemisse May 2020 #16
Not gonna want pizza today. n/t rzemanfl May 2020 #4
10 shares and counting since I posted this on my Facebook page.... ProudMNDemocrat May 2020 #7
Kick dalton99a May 2020 #9
I get it. world wide wally May 2020 #10
This is what many don't seem to understand Hav May 2020 #11
As demonstrated by the assholes who cough on mask-wearers to "mock" them. Beartracks May 2020 #15
Kicking for visibility love_katz May 2020 #13
That's a keeper. Thanks for posting it. n/t sarge43 May 2020 #14
RepubLIEclowns 🤡🎈 don't even know what a petri dish is. nt live love laugh May 2020 #17
I hate to point out the obvious (again) Warpy May 2020 #18
Very true. LisaL May 2020 #23
Please don't be an overly analytical killjoy. Blue_true May 2020 #29
I don't think lying to people does any good, at all Warpy May 2020 #31
A virus gets launched in goblets of body fluid. In that case the particle size of the virus Blue_true May 2020 #35
Belief, meet science Warpy May 2020 #37
The science says that masks work. Blue_true May 2020 #38
The virus is in the droplets Jkbk May 2020 #39
there isn't anything they said that isn't true Nature Man May 2020 #32
Read my reply to the poster to see why I felt his reasoning was overwrought. Blue_true May 2020 #36
That picture would be a nice rear window decal for vehicles. Blue_true May 2020 #28
Does anyone actually know Katie Corley or have her as a friend on Facebook? Chemisse May 2020 #33
Ya can't see a germ. Kid Berwyn May 2020 #34

kpete

(71,900 posts)
5. mr pete
Mon May 25, 2020, 10:52 AM
May 2020

is a microbiologist, so i asked him your question

what is cultured depends on the cougher

the timing would be 1 to 3 days

Warpy

(110,908 posts)
27. We all have colonies of what are called normal flora
Mon May 25, 2020, 08:42 PM
May 2020

including the streptococcus that converts sugars and starches on our teeth into acid and gives us cavities. They're normal, everybody's got them, and before cane sugar from the West Indies was a thing, they weren't a big problem. Once cane sugar was cheap enough to be purchased by most people, dental health took a huge dive. Most of us have enough of a menagerie living inside us and on us that some bacteriologists have disparagingly referred to humanity as perambulating keratin coated bacterial habitats. Bacteria outnumber our own cells, so they've got a point.

Ms. Toad

(33,915 posts)
8. Not sure why it matters.
Mon May 25, 2020, 12:36 PM
May 2020

As long as both coughs were done the same length of time from the pictured results onto uncontaminated petri dishes.

The point isn't to prove that the unmasked cought had COVID 19 (or anything else in particular), or that it took X number of days to show results. The point is to establish that masks are an effective barrier that will minimize the risk that whatever the person is coughing out will contaminate others. That is illustrated by the difference in the resulting petri dishes, regardless of what it was or how long it took.

PoindexterOglethorpe

(25,746 posts)
19. It may not matter a great deal,
Mon May 25, 2020, 06:09 PM
May 2020

Last edited Mon May 25, 2020, 10:07 PM - Edit history (1)

but it's somewhat worthwhile (at least to me) to know if the unmasked cough took only a few minutes or many days to show the results pictured. I realize it's essentially a visual representation on a macro level that was already existing microscopically.

I'm the kind of person that feels the more we know about something the better off we are.

PoindexterOglethorpe

(25,746 posts)
21. I don't assume that it is.
Mon May 25, 2020, 06:38 PM
May 2020

I just feel it's interesting, and possibly worthwhile to know how long it took to get the visible results.

Ms. Toad

(33,915 posts)
26. I didn't say they did.
Mon May 25, 2020, 06:52 PM
May 2020

And the point of the demonstration isn't that what's on the petri dish is the coronavirus - it is to visually illustrate that masks act as barriers.

That said, bacteria are much larger than viruses, meaning that more will be stopped by the mask, so it is more illustrative than indicative of the actual effectiveness of masks against COVID 19.

sir pball

(4,726 posts)
30. It took at least 18-24 hours to show these results.
Tue May 26, 2020, 12:05 AM
May 2020

Bacterial colonies don't grow in a few minutes; after you innoculate a dish you have to keep it warm and moist for at least overnight, up to several days, to get visible colonies such as this.

The blood agar media she's using may make a difference but that's above my pay grade - I'm not a microbiologist but I did get an A in undergrad micro.

PoindexterOglethorpe

(25,746 posts)
25. Right. I'm somewhat aware of that.
Mon May 25, 2020, 06:46 PM
May 2020

But it still matters just how long it takes for the bacteria to become visible like that. I think it's fascinating.

ProudMNDemocrat

(16,484 posts)
3. I just posted this on my Facebook time line page.....
Mon May 25, 2020, 10:51 AM
May 2020

The photo is a stark realization as to why it is important to follow protocols to keep others safe as well as ourselves.

Thee is nothing shameful about wanting to live.

Chemisse

(30,793 posts)
12. I just did too!
Mon May 25, 2020, 01:42 PM
May 2020

When I taught Biology I used to have the kids cough into a Petri dish, then cover it and tape it shut because it would soon become dangerous, as all the microbes multiplied. Once you've seen this you never forget the potency of your cough!

I'd like to think that all those kids are now adults who are wearing masks when out in public, to protect others from Covid-19.

Chemisse

(30,793 posts)
16. Wow! I had to change my FB post to public so others could share it.
Mon May 25, 2020, 02:48 PM
May 2020

It's very popular. I sure hope the original poster doesn't mind. I did credit her in the picture.

ProudMNDemocrat

(16,484 posts)
7. 10 shares and counting since I posted this on my Facebook page....
Mon May 25, 2020, 12:29 PM
May 2020

This visual is making the rounds. Powerful to illustrate that any kind of virus or bacteria live in our mouths without our knowing it. Our tongues are breeding grounds.

Hav

(5,969 posts)
11. This is what many don't seem to understand
Mon May 25, 2020, 01:09 PM
May 2020

Too many still think that masks are only for your protection and no one else but you is affected by your choice. The truth is that mask wearers do more to protect those selfish idiots around them than themselves.

Beartracks

(12,761 posts)
15. As demonstrated by the assholes who cough on mask-wearers to "mock" them.
Mon May 25, 2020, 01:58 PM
May 2020

They certainly do demonstrate a profound and self-righteous ignorance.

=============

Warpy

(110,908 posts)
18. I hate to point out the obvious (again)
Mon May 25, 2020, 05:44 PM
May 2020

but these are bacterial colonies on blood agar.

Even a cloth mask will stop most bacteria, they're large enough to be seen with optical microscopes.

Viruses are so small that they can't be seen using photons, meaning light. You have to bounce electrons off them and even then, the picture will be pretty fuzzy for the smallest viruses. They will migrate through cloth like it's not even there, and fairly easily through a paper surgical mask. If you are relying on a cloth mask and have to cough or sneeze, jam that mask into the inside of your elbow to contain the spray. Ditto for paper. It's even a good idea if you're wearing an N-95 mask that viruses can't penetrate, you don't want the force of a sneeze to blow it off.

If we were having a Y. pestis pneumonic plague, that picture would tell us everything we needed to know to slow and stop the spread. Unfortunately, this is a virus, so cloth or paper alone won't stop it.

So wash that cloth mask with a little bleach when you return home. Wash your hands in soap and water for 20 seconds before you put your fingers anywhere near your face. Toss that paper mask. N-95 masks are supposed to be tossed after use, but we know how the supply has been fouled up by bad government, so make sure your soiled fingers touch only the outside, your clean fingers only touch the inside, and make sure you can put it where the clean side won't be contaminated by the dirty side.

And good luck. Luck is going to play a large role in this, even though we don't want to admit it.

Blue_true

(31,261 posts)
29. Please don't be an overly analytical killjoy.
Mon May 25, 2020, 11:03 PM
May 2020

Data has shown that if two people are properly wearing a mask and one of them cough, the other person has a greater chance of escaping harm than he or she would if the cougher was not wearing a mask.

I think the lab tech was trying to illustrate that simple point in the best way possible. I believe that the picture is pretty damned effective at inducing people to wear masks, that is all that I care about, anything else is superfluous BS.

Warpy

(110,908 posts)
31. I don't think lying to people does any good, at all
Tue May 26, 2020, 08:16 AM
May 2020

Bacteria and viruses are different animals. People need to know that and upgrade their masks as soon as they can, as well as avoiding crowds as much as possible.

Wearing a cloth mask does very little. People need to know that so if they're ill, they stay away from everybody else instead of going out and infecting people through a porous mask.

If Y. Pestis comes back as pneumonic plague, those Petri dishes will be appropriate. Now, nope.

Blue_true

(31,261 posts)
35. A virus gets launched in goblets of body fluid. In that case the particle size of the virus
Tue May 26, 2020, 06:29 PM
May 2020

is completely irrelevant, what matters most is what the launched body fluid goblets hit. It is better to have them hit a mask (any mask) instead of hit the area around the mouth or nose. In 1918-1919, a study was done that showed that gauze masks, the worst posdible choice, reduced infections by around 25%. Her illustration on the importance of wearing a mask, even any mask, was perfectly sound. We can hash over the efficiency of different designs of masks, but that wasn't her point.

I am not dismissing your concern, it is just I didn't see it as applicable to what the woman was trying to show. Maybe if we had a president, there would have been an effort to rate the various mask options out there, given that far more masks are needed that N95 mask manufacturers can keep up with. But noooo, lazy assed Trump can't do that, I is hostage to the President Obama evaluated N95 masks that can't be made in adequate supply for the current crisis - if we had President Obama in charge, even if we could not get N95 masks, the government would have most likely put out information on the next best alternatives. Now, we are on our own.

Warpy

(110,908 posts)
37. Belief, meet science
Tue May 26, 2020, 09:15 PM
May 2020

Viruses and bacteria are different, it's a matter of scale as much as anything else.

If all you have is a cloth or paper mask, use your elbow to trap droplets if you cough or sneeze. The mask alone will not work. Period.

Blue_true

(31,261 posts)
38. The science says that masks work.
Tue May 26, 2020, 09:58 PM
May 2020

Better designed masks work more efficiently and produce better results in terms of protecting the mask wearer.

It is not a belief that virus particles need a host, that is simple science. When released in a sneeze, they are attached to droplets of mucus from a person's nose and/or mouth. Any mask is going to stop a percentage of the virus carrying mucus from hitting areas where a person can move the virus to a mucus containing area, like the nose, mouth, eyes, anus, penis.

Sneezing into the elbow is good practice, but from the vantage of the point that the lab tech was trying to make, it is irrelevant. The lab tech looked at a case where a person sneezes right toward another person, which I argue is the most common situation, two weeks ago I had a clueless woman cough pretty much right into my face - I was at a counter in an auto parts store working with a masked employee with me in a mask. Unknown to me, a woman walked right up in line behind me, was less than six feet away (in fact, I doubt that she was even three feet away). When I turned to follow the tech to a register, she coughed into the air and basically right into my face. I was wearing an N95 mask and I feel fine today. She was a smoker because I could sense that when I was cleaning the mask once I got home, before I sterilized it with a spray of 91% alcohol. I had showered and re-washed my hair earlier.

The long aside is to make this point, the mask apparently caught everything that woman coughed at me. Would a lesser mask have worked as well? Most likely not, but it would have prevented me from immediately breathing in a large percentage of whatever that woman coughed out - I conclude that was the core message that the lab tech was making.

It is possible that if that woman was infected with something, the efficiency at which a mask work would have been vitally important, but that is not the point that the lab tech made it which I originally made - your point centers around what masks are more efficient, that wasn't her point, her point appeared to have been that any mask at all is better than no mask, science backs that up.

Gauze masks reducing the infection rate of the 1918 Virus by around 25% is not BELIEF my friend, that is historical fact. I can't think of a worse mask design than 1918 gauze, a sock mask today is likely far more efficient.

Jkbk

(1 post)
39. The virus is in the droplets
Wed May 27, 2020, 07:30 PM
May 2020

Even recent scientific studies shows that fabric mask is able to trap the droplets that is expelled from coughing or sneezing. The virus may be smaller but they are in the droplets. Physics will tell you that these droplets will be absorbed once they come in contact with the fabric. The situation will be different if it is a solid particulate. But droplets are liquid particulates. Even if these liquid particulates are smaller than the size of the pores, the droplets will still not get through unless it is in a parallel trajectory.

Your hypothesis that virus is too small to be filtered is incorrect as there is no consideration about the state of the substance.

Blue_true

(31,261 posts)
36. Read my reply to the poster to see why I felt his reasoning was overwrought.
Tue May 26, 2020, 06:32 PM
May 2020

A virus particle doesn't leave a host on it's own. I don't want to litigate this with a second person, if you're interested, read my more detailed reasoning.

Blue_true

(31,261 posts)
28. That picture would be a nice rear window decal for vehicles.
Mon May 25, 2020, 10:57 PM
May 2020

"A cough. With a mask and without a mask. Which petri-dish would you rather be?"

Chemisse

(30,793 posts)
33. Does anyone actually know Katie Corley or have her as a friend on Facebook?
Tue May 26, 2020, 01:42 PM
May 2020

I posted this and somebody is asking for permission to put this on their webpage, which of course I cannot give.


Nevermind - they found her!

https://www.facebook.com/katie.s.corley

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