Cockroach and Locust Brains Teem with Antimicrobial Compounds
Definitions:
Antimicrobial: A general term that refers to a group of drugs that includes antibiotics, antifungals, antiprotozoals, and antivirals
Staph: Short for Staphylococcus. It is a group of bacteria that cause a multitude of diseases. They can cause illness directly by infection, or indirectly through products they make. Staphylococcus are the main culprit in hospital-acquired infections, and cause thousands of deaths every year
E. Coli- Short for Escherichia coli, a bacterium that normally resides in the human colon. Most strains of E. coli are quite harmless. However, some strains are capable of causing disease, sometimes disease of deadly proportions.
Summary:
New research shows that the brains of cockroaches and locusts teem with antimicrobial compounds that slay harmful E. coli and MRSA, the antibiotic-resistant staph bacterium. Microbiologist Simon Lee reported September 7 at the Society for General Microbiology meeting that extracts of ground-up brain and other nerve tissue from the American cockroach and the desert locust killed more than 90 percent of a type of E. coli, and also killed methicillin-resistant staph. Naveed Khan and researchers became interested when many soldiers returned from the Middle East with unusual infections, but locusts in the area were not affected. The researchers ground up various body parts from cockroaches and locusts and incubated them for two hours with different bacteria. It was revealed that the extracts from the brains and from locust thorax nerve tissue killed nearly 100 percent of the bacteria. However, the insect fat, muscle, blood did not affect the bacteria at all.
Discussion:
I chose this article because I think bacteria and antibiotics are very interesting. It caught my eye because it relates to the science research topic of bacteria resistance that I am currently working on. In fact, this issue is quite relevant to the world around us. Bacteria resistance to antibiotics are becoming a rising problem, and many forms of highly resistant bacteria, such as Staphylococcus, are quickly developing resistant strains against our current medicines. Therefore, scientists are in a race to discover new substances to battle bacteria. They are even searching in the bodies of insects and animals. The researchers found that the extracts from the brain and nerve tissue killed 90 percent of a type of E. Coli causing meningitis, and also killed methicillin-resistant staph. It is interesting to think that antimicrobial compounds from cockroach brains may be a life-saving drug.
Questions:
1. How will the antimicrobials in cockroach and locust brains be processed into medicine?
2. In how long will the drug be available for use, and will it potentially be able to fight many type of bacteria?
Citations:
Ehrenberg, Rachel. "Cockroach brains, coming to a pharmacy near you."
ScienceNews 9 Oct. 2010: 8. Web. 15 Oct. 2010.
<http://sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/63286/title/
Cockroach_brains%2C_coming_to_a_pharmacy_near_you
ScienceNews 9 Oct. 2010: 8. Web. 15 Oct. 2010.
<http://sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/63286/title/
Cockroach_brains%2C_coming_to_a_pharmacy_near_you
Great post. I also read this article and used it for my last CSB. Nice summary of the researchers as they found the new antibiotic. It is a very interesting topic, as there are few substitutes to fight MRSA and E.coli. Good discussion, I like your analysis of the article. Overall you did a great job, keep it up.
ReplyDeleteAndrew,
ReplyDeleteI found your CSB to be very interesting. I read your summary and the original article, and you summarized it pretty well. However, you failed to include that the locust brains did not affect the human body parts, which is definitely a main factor in whether or not something becomes a medicine. Your analysis made a lot of sense and included a lot of what I thought of after I read your summary.