3 ms·
Some things are easier to evolve a resistance to than others. The antibacterial measures we apply externally (rather than internally) tend to be more of the "w
by Dove 17y ago
Some things are easier to evolve a resistance to than others. The antibacterial measures we apply externally (rather than internally) tend to be more of the "would kill anything living" variety than the "targets specific, removable weakness of this organism". Hence, hard to adapt to.
Hand sanitizers, for example, work by immersing bacteria in alcohol, a potent organic solvent. It dissolves cell membranes and denatures proteins.
While there are bugs that can live in some pretty harsh conditions, to my mind, worrying about the bacteria in your kitchen sink spontaneously developing resistance to alcohol is like worrying about them spontaneously developing resistance to boiling water.
Possible, on the millions-of-years scale. Not exactly a big concern in this lifetime.
- derobert 17y agoAnother big reason resistance to alcohol (and boiling water) doesn't develop is that neither is persistent in the environment, and thus the selective pressure vanishes fairly quickly. The mutations required to resist either likely have downsides in normal environments, and thus will normally be selected against.