Bacteria Are More Capable of Complex Decision-Making Than Thought

by obarzuca ~ January 27th, 2010. Filed under: Uncategorized.

Hi! This is my article from Jan. 20, a little late sorry about that!

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100114143310.htm

As I read this article I noticed the lead researcher, Gladys Alexandre, emphasizing that by manipulating the receptors in bacteria that there would be all-sorts of breakthroughs in medicines to fight different bacteria. I would like all who read this article to remember that (though taken directly from materials provided by University of Tennessee at Knoxville) it has been written for a wide public audience. This means that the researchers would most likely point out areas of the project that the general reader would find most useful. In this case it was the idea that there is now a new way to develop antibiotics, possibly a “full-proof” way.

This sounds great but bacteria are always evolving and adapting to different environments and even to what’s attacking them. That is why the scare of the “Super Bug” is so real. Even if scientists are able to figure out which precise receptor controls bad bacteria and make medicines tailored to that bug I’m sure that the strain would eventually mutate into something else.

So, basically, this research is aimed at better using nitrogen fixing bacteria to improve agricultural practices, any talk of the medicine aspect of it is purely to keep getting funded.

All the best,
Oana

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1 Response to Bacteria Are More Capable of Complex Decision-Making Than Thought

  1. avatar  ymontana
    February 9th, 2010 at 7:09 pm

    This topic is essentially talking about altering the life spans of mosquitoes, as well as humans. In any type of biological change, there may be positive or negative consequences/ effects, or even both, but both sides should always be considered. While the life span of all mosquitoes will be shortened by half, so will the viruses’, ultimately leading to the elimination of 40, 000 deaths caused by dengue fever each year, and many thousands of others by chikungunya and malaria. However, one must consider what possible negative consequences could occur if this method of injecting a small sample population of mosquitoes proves successful? And wouldn’t there be negative consequences given that the Aedes Aegypti species of mosquitoes isn’t a natural carrier of the Wolbachia bacteria, unlike other mosquito species?

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