Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria - Acceleration of their evolution (Apr/27/2006 )
I googled and the result is
Ingram, L O. “Ethanol tolerance in bacteria.” Critical reviews in biotechnology. 9.4 (1990): 305-19. Very old and didn't find the full text. Minnie, U can make a paper.
There are more there but I dont think any of them spoke about 70% alcohol.
-Bungalow Boy-
regarding 70% etoh - there are also issues with some enveloped virus particles (according to my vet - I haven't seen the article in Science) 
-aimikins-
You should be paranoid! There are many microorganisms that are resistant to everything. You have three in your body that will eventually kill you - - Chlamydia Pneumoniae (man made), Herpes V6 (man made) and Epstein Barr! Just have an IGG antibody test done for these three and see what the titers are!
QUOTE (jamie419 @ Apr 27 2006, 01:16 PM)
Do you think that we are over paranoid about microorganisms in our environment and are creating a much more resistant population of bacteria? I heard on NPR today an epidemiologist talk about how you need to sanatize your computer keyboard at work and at home to prevent the spread of bacteria. Yeah I do agree with that ... but do you think we are all taking this antibacterial craze a little too far. The other thing that amazed me was how he referred to everything as being contaminated with microorganisms. For the average listener I believe the word contaminated would sound a little scary. I sometimes worry that us scientists make people overly paranoid about the presence of bacteria. Not that I'm advocating never washing your hands ...
What are your thoughts???
What are your thoughts???
-dave2-
QUOTE (coastal @ Sep 11 2007, 05:00 PM)
But the thing is once you throw this old keyboard away or keep using this spray the bacteria on it will steadily lose their resistance again because it is again a disadvantage for them. So the idea of immune bacteria all around the globe is ridiculous. Come on! All the mould in this world had several million years time to accomplish this and failed. So how should we?
(Of course thats just an example. If you are an expert micro biologist you probably find a lot of factual errors here. Its ok.)
(Of course thats just an example. If you are an expert micro biologist you probably find a lot of factual errors here. Its ok.)
Quite correct, the problem however lies in two areas.. Firstly is the time it takes the bug to lose the gene. They don't lose then overnight, esepecially if the resistence gene is carried on a plasmid which will carry other genes which the bug may find useful in normal life. And secondly is the quantity of antibiotics in use. We are talking quantities on commercial scale, a product that may be found world wide. No where in nature will you find such quantities. And once the product is used, it is released into the environment, cleared up only by natural degradation (heat and water) or by microbial enzymes... which give said microb antibiotic resistences.
And sad to say a resistence gene to one member of an antibiotic family give resistence (sometime full resistence, sometime partial resistence) to every other member in that family of antibiotic. (And we have only so many families.)
So a resistence bug living on your computer may find the resistence gene useful in an environment contaminated by antibiotics. Still that is no real danger to humans, until the human host becomes ill for some reason, and goes to hospital were there are lots of other ill people laced with antibiotics of almost every type, perfect feeding grounds for a bug with some resistence to antibiotics. Or said resistance gene is 'donated' to a bug which is pathogenic, one that face antibiotics semi regularly as doctors try to cure their patients. (Only for said patient not to take the full course of drugs and spread said bug to some one else)
-perneseblue-