Corning is making antibacterial Gorilla Glass to fight germs on your phone

Let’s do some quick math, shall we? According to the Internet (we know the Internet is always right), the human sneeze travels at around 100 miles per hour and can contain somewhere near 100,000 germs. If you sneeze on your phone and use it for even a single hour that day, well, that’s a whole lot of chances to spread those germs to other phones. Or door knobs. Or shopping cart handles. Or salad bar tongs. We’re getting overwhelmed just thinking about it. Thankfully, Corning is coming to the rescue.

Corning has announced today a new breed of Gorilla Glass with antimicrobial properties. The glass is “formulated with an antibacterial agent, ionic silver, which is incorporated into the glass surface for sustained activity.” In other words, it kills germs on your phone or tablets’ screen and works for a long time. According to Corning, the new antibacterial Gorilla Glass “inhibits the growth of algae, mold, mildew, fungi and bacteria.” No more worrying about the eutrophication of your phone screen. Phew.

We have no idea when Corning plans to put its new antibacterial Gorilla Glass into consumer products, but we can only hope it’s sooner than later. Unfortunately, it won’t be soon enough to stop the spread of the deadly CES virus that always seems to strike this time of the year. Maybe next time.