Resistance
February 28th 2007 01:00
People tend to think of themselves as a fairly smart species, and bacteria as a fairly dumb one. After all, people have nervous systems, language, culture and various other advantages that would seem to put us ahead- if we used them...
There's been concern in recent years over bacteria developing resistance to the various antibiotics we use to kill them. This isn't any natural evolutionary step; it's people acting to produce the more resistant bugs. Here's how it works: Doctor prescribes an antibiotic, which the patient takes. The first traces of the antibiotic immediately start killing off the most susceptible bugs- but the stronger, hardier bacteria are still hanging on. The patient has lost a large number of the weaker bacteria, and feeling better (not necessarily thinking better) stops taking the antibiotic.
As the levels of antibiotic in the patient's system diminish, the remaining bacteria revive and go about the bacteriological business: basically eating, excreting and making more bacteria. The problem is that these survivors are the stronger germs, and so their offspring are going to carry their superior genes and be more resistant themselves. This is how humans have been breeding superbugs for the last few decades.
In 2001, shortly after the 9/11 attack the United States invaded Afghanistan to destroy the terrorist group al-Qaeda and the Taliban government who was sheltering them. Unfortunately, President Bush then got distracted by something bright and shiny in Iraq. With attention turned to the country that didn't harbor our enemies, the fighting in Afghanistan was left to the back burner.
The Taliban and their al-Qaeda allies were not destroyed; and of course the cells that were left were the more cunning and stronger groups. Humans are not bacteria, of course: These war-hardened veterans can impart their knowledge and skills unto new recruits- ironically, the war in Iraq has turned out to be a recruiting bonanza for al-Qaeda.
There's a great joke in there about giving "aid and comfort to the enemy..."
There's been concern in recent years over bacteria developing resistance to the various antibiotics we use to kill them. This isn't any natural evolutionary step; it's people acting to produce the more resistant bugs. Here's how it works: Doctor prescribes an antibiotic, which the patient takes. The first traces of the antibiotic immediately start killing off the most susceptible bugs- but the stronger, hardier bacteria are still hanging on. The patient has lost a large number of the weaker bacteria, and feeling better (not necessarily thinking better) stops taking the antibiotic.
As the levels of antibiotic in the patient's system diminish, the remaining bacteria revive and go about the bacteriological business: basically eating, excreting and making more bacteria. The problem is that these survivors are the stronger germs, and so their offspring are going to carry their superior genes and be more resistant themselves. This is how humans have been breeding superbugs for the last few decades.
In 2001, shortly after the 9/11 attack the United States invaded Afghanistan to destroy the terrorist group al-Qaeda and the Taliban government who was sheltering them. Unfortunately, President Bush then got distracted by something bright and shiny in Iraq. With attention turned to the country that didn't harbor our enemies, the fighting in Afghanistan was left to the back burner.
The Taliban and their al-Qaeda allies were not destroyed; and of course the cells that were left were the more cunning and stronger groups. Humans are not bacteria, of course: These war-hardened veterans can impart their knowledge and skills unto new recruits- ironically, the war in Iraq has turned out to be a recruiting bonanza for al-Qaeda.
There's a great joke in there about giving "aid and comfort to the enemy..."
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