April 28, 2009
Interesting talk on bacterial communication
Bonnie Bassler at TED.
The really big deal is that bacteria may require communication to become pathogenic, which means we might be able to interfere with them as pathogens without actually killing them. Why is this better than killing them? Because any measure we take to kill some bacteria (i.e. antibiotics) inevitably exerts selective pressure, eventually resulting in the evolution of antibiotic-resistant strains of pathogenic bacteria. If we can obviate their pathogenic behaviors by interfering with their communication and without killing them, we don't push their evolution, and we don't get sick. Very cool stuff.
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The really big deal is that bacteria may require communication to become pathogenic, which means we might be able to interfere with them as pathogens without actually killing them. Why is this better than killing them? Because any measure we take to kill some bacteria (i.e. antibiotics) inevitably exerts selective pressure, eventually resulting in the evolution of antibiotic-resistant strains of pathogenic bacteria. If we can obviate their pathogenic behaviors by interfering with their communication and without killing them, we don't push their evolution, and we don't get sick. Very cool stuff.
Posted by: leoncaruthers at
01:46 PM
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Wow, man. Bacterium are living beings, too. Maybe we can talk to them about the problems they're causing and make them understand all the hardship they cause. Then we can all live together peacefully; humans and bacterium hand-in-hand, living and loving. Awesome.
Posted by: brousch at April 29, 2009 07:05 AM (5EbLC)
2
Why you always gotta turn it into some hippietastic love-in thing? I'm thinking more along the lines of enslaving and dominating lower life forms for our own benefit.
If this perspective feels alien to you (you utter pansy), it helps to cackle madly. Puts one into the right mindset for proper mad science.
If this perspective feels alien to you (you utter pansy), it helps to cackle madly. Puts one into the right mindset for proper mad science.
Posted by: leoncaruthers at April 29, 2009 09:55 PM (JSO4h)
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