Killing Bugs in the Nose

Hello, it's Lisa in London. I’ve been learning a lot about germs that live inside the nose. But before we get to that...

Every time someone near me sniffles or sneezes, I wonder what germs they might be carrying. The pandemic has made me more aware of how easily bugs can spread, so I was intrigued when I found out about a company focused on zapping germs that are found in the nose.

Carolyn Cross, the chief executive officer of Ondine Biomedical Inc., gave me a demonstration of how the technology worked when I recently met her in London. She applied a blue liquid solution onto a swab which she stuck inside her nose, thoroughly coating it with the solution. After that, she attached a cable, connected to a machine that generates lasers, to her nose. Once turned on, a red laser light shone inside her blue-colored nostrils.