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WorldWeird: Bacteria that use antibiotics as food source

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    Antibiotics for breakfast? The drugs are supposed to kill bacteria, not feed them. Yet Harvard researchers have discovered hundreds of germs in soil that literally gobble up antibiotics, able to thrive with the potent drugs as their sole source of nutrition.

    These bacteria outwit antibiotics in a disturbingly novel way, and now the race is on to figure out just how they do it - in case more dangerous germs that sicken people could develop the same ability.

    On the other hand, the work explains why the soil doesn't harbor big antibiotic buildups despite use of the drugs in livestock plus human disposal and, well, excretion, too.

    The finding comes amid increasing concern that many infections could soon become untreatable, as more bacteria become immune to today's antibiotics even as few new drugs are being discovered.

    But the medical impact of the new work isn't yet clear. Germs in soil aren't big human threats, and no human pathogen has been spotted with the same ability. Still, many of the soil bacteria tested are relatives of human pathogens, including a notorious E. coli strain.

    Link to article here.
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    Maybe we need to go back to the Penicillium bacteria and put it in a situation where its forced to compete with the super-bugs and ultra-bugs and see what it evolves into.
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      CommentAuthorJoe Paoli
    • CommentTimeApr 6th 2008
     (1687.3)
    Yeah, superbugs are among my more chilling fears. The thought of 'conquered' infectious diseases making a mass killing comeback is not a pleasant one, and kind of offensive to the notion of progress. I've worked in at least one country that has laws in place trying to deal with it, but here in the US, antibacterial hand soaps are a successful marketing tactic and product additive.

    The article doesn't mention how antibiotics' precursor, sulfa drugs - also the last line of defense currently when antibiotics fail, affect these.

    Kosmopolit
    Maybe we need to go back to the Penicillium bacteria and put it in a situation where its forced to compete with the super-bugs and ultra-bugs and see what it evolves into.
    That seems like a smart research strategy to me.
    • CommentAuthorPooka
    • CommentTimeApr 6th 2008
     (1687.4)
    Maybe I'm a sick bitter bitch, but intertwined with the fear of a diseasy death for me and mine, I'd still be happy that mothernature was winning out finally...we need a good disaster to thin out the population...way too damned many of us for anyone's good....
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    I was told by an American friend of mine that you can get anti-biotics over the counter in America without a subscription... is that true?
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    @Paul Duffield
    I was told by an American friend of mine that you can get anti-biotics over the counter in America without a subscription..

    WTF?!?! Not that I know of, though I can make some inquiries tomorrow. As far as I am aware, you still need a prescription from a doctor. That is a fucking scary thought. People misuse them enough as it is.
    • CommentAuthorPooka
    • CommentTimeApr 6th 2008
     (1687.7)
    i know you can get weak antibiotics over the counter. UTI med called Cystex I believe is one of them...
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      CommentAuthorJoe Paoli
    • CommentTimeApr 6th 2008
     (1687.8)
    As far as I am aware, you still need a prescription from a doctor. That is a fucking scary thought. People misuse them enough as it is.
    I don't know of any non-prescription antibiotics, unless they mean the antibiotic gel Neosporin, which is only available by prescription in some countries, or all the 'antibacterial' hand-cleaning products I mentioned earlier.
  9.  (1687.9)
    The over-the-counter urinary medicine Cystex® contains methenamine, an antibacterial agent that attacks bacteria and helps prevent it from adhering to the lining of the bladder.

    Cystex® is not meant to replace the care of a doctor, since urinary tract infections (UTIs) require prescription medication to completely cure the infection.

    Link here. Not the same as a prescription antibiotic.


    @Joe Paoli
    I don't know of any non-prescription antibiotics, unless they mean the antibiotic gel Neosporin, which is only available by prescription in some countries, or all the 'antibacterial' hand-cleaning products I mentioned earlier.

    That's the only thing I could think of also.
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      CommentAuthorzarhooie
    • CommentTimeApr 6th 2008
     (1687.10)
    @ Pooka

    Y'know, I've been thinking the same thing for ages now. Kind of ironic, considering that I'm going into medicine...
    • CommentAuthorPooka
    • CommentTimeApr 6th 2008
     (1687.11)
    I have a crazy uncle I've never met who owns a self sufficiant ranch out in Montana. I've been told he's part of this organization that wants to reduce the world population by 90 something percent...I...don't know how they plan on accomplishing this, or to what extent he's involved (Mr. Government man flaggin' my posts)...or even what his name is or where he lives exactly.
    He invited me and my brother out there to stay for a summer when I was a kid but my mom wouldn't let me go...thought he was too crazy...

    I just see the corruption and troubles that are caused by overpopulation...most problems go back to the fact that there are way too many of us for this planet to support. There's too much crowding...people are going crazy because we're all packed in around too many people we don't know. There's not enough food and shelter for everyone. There's so much of us creating so much filth and garbage that the world's being choked...gaaah...not gonna rant...gonna go hang out with my family...

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