Humans vs. Bacteria: An Unfair Advantage?

There is an arms race between humans and bacteria. My opinion for decades now, has been that the human brain gives humans the long term advantage in this race. Here is more detail on an approach to fight bacterial resistance that I alluded to in an earlier post:

In 2005, biochemist Floyd Romesberg of the Scripps Research Institute, near San Diego, announced that his lab had discovered a gene called LexA that switches on the error-prone DNA, enabling the microbe to mutate rapidly.

Shortly before this announcement, Romesberg presented some startling findings during a meeting at the institute I cofounded, the BioAgenda Institute. Romesberg, a short, intense man with a graying beard and an ability to explain complex ideas to nonscientists, told us that his lab had learned how to turn off LexA. Several major biotechnology figures at the meeting said to me, "This is huge." At the time, several top-tier venture-capital firms were vying for Romesberg's attention in hopes of starting a company. Ned David was one of the lucky cofounders who later named the company Achaogen--"achao" means "against chaos" in Latin.

Now Romesberg has announced the discovery of a molecule that inhibits LexA'sability to cause mutations; it was found after the lab screened more than 100,000 possible compounds. The molecule also slips easily into a bacterial cell, which is critical to creating an effective tool to zap the bugs.

This new mutation killer does not prevent bacterial infections. Taken in combination with antibiotics, it would prevent the bugs from mutating in response to the antibiotics, thereby preventing resistant strains from developing. The drug could also be used to restore the effectiveness of older antibiotics that have been rendered almost useless by bacterial resistance.

Source

I particularly like the idea of restoring efficacy to older antibiotics--since those tried and true drugs are much less expensive than the newer "uber-antibiotics."

Using bacterial cell signaling proteins as drug targets is logical, and much easier with modern lab techniques. It is the current explosion of discovery in the biological sciences--combined with bioinformatics software AND proper economic incentives--that will change the face of medical treatment. This revolution will happen in the developed world and in the third world, thanks to the generosity of the people of western nations.


Perhaps the idea of western aid to impoverished and underdeveloped nations originated in the protestand missionaries of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. But now the concept is thoroughly secularized and mainstreamed in the west.

Contrast the many billions of dollars of private aid from western organisations with muslim "aid" from wealthy oil states that is oriented toward spreading violent islamism around the world. Russian and Chinese "aid" is oriented toward strategic alliances and natural resources of the third world. In contrast, the many private, non-state organisation of the western world generally try to address the most serious humanitarian problems. Often this effort is opposed by the dictatorships and other political entities that cause most of the hardship in the first place.