The Enemy within: A New Pattern of Antibiotic Resistance
source: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=the-enemy-within
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- suzane
- added this
:http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=the-enemy-within
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- groups:
- Health, Microbiology
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- tags:
- Resistance, Antibiotics, Pneumonia, Bacterium
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s_peak
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Not to say "I told you so" but... yeah. We like to think we're pretty clever... but we've pretty much been entirely wrong throughout the whole of history. We used to think the sun revolved around us, and that space was full of chocolate or something... but one of the dumbest mistakes that humanity made was to draw the line between us microbial life. We can't fight them. We HAVE TO understand how to work together. It's 100% impossible, even with the best drugs, developed by machines, life will always hack it's way through them... because that's what life does. It wasn't even known until the 80's that humans contained beneficial bacteria... they populate every organ... every inch of skin, etc. (Want to follow this rant to the fullest? Google this: "why do mitochondria have their own DNA?") We are all connected. The human body is an ecosystem for trillions of cells of tiny cultures that thrive inside of us under the right conditions. Just as we inhabit and have an effect on the earth, so do these tiny creatures have an effect on us. With the right molecules and motivation, they can work with us or work to destroy us. Just like us, they can sometimes overconsume.
The best doctors in the world can't beat MRSA. It scares the shit out of them... but the sad truth is that we, in our infinite arrogance, created these monstrosities, who will only grow stronger and stronger as our environment fills with toxins to weaken us... as our water loses oxygen and nutrients necessary for beneficial bacteria to thrive... and as we try harder and harder to carpet bomb our microbial counterparts with antibiotics that kill the good guys with the bad guys, leaving a gaping hole in our defenses.
We know nothing about life, and we spend most of our time arguing about where life came from... when the subtle message of it all is... that we exist as an extension of the lifeforce... and the more we try to separate ourselves from the tightly woven web... the faster we will learn the harsh lesson that life does not revolve around us.
See what I did there? I came "full circle". Get it?! :)
- 5 months ago
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s_peak
