Friday 5 July 2013

New method of bacterial communication discovered.

Antibiotic resistance is one of the major health risks of the modern age, and could set our health care system back by decades. Much research has been geared towards preventing this problem, including the use of silver which I described in a recent post which you can find here

New research may have given us the foothold that we need in the fight against antibiotic resistant bacteria. This research suggests that resistant bacteria within a population are capable of communicating with bacteria that are less resistant, through chemical communication using small amino acid molecules. This can then be used in turn, to make those bacteria resistant, spreading that resistance throughout the population. 

These small molecules can also be produced by almost all forms of bacteria, which suggests that they are a form of universal communication. Therefore, if we were able to block these small amino acids, we may be able to prevent the rapid spread of resistance between groups of bacteria. 

What do you think about this research? Write below with your comments or questions. 

No comments:

Post a Comment