5 ms·

Love it. One question, does the bacteria once it has conquered the known world does it begin to traverse backwards into the previous sectors?

• ceejayoz 10y ago
  I'd guess not. In many cases, these sorts of mutations are maladaptive outside of that environment. Put a polar bear in the tropics and it's not going to do so well - not just because it's going to overheat, but because all the energy spent growing that hair could've been better used on something else.
  • vibrio 10y ago
    This concept is key. Growth in the presence of antibiotic in pure culture on agarose plates does not necessarily equal pathogenic potential. Every adaptation probably has a cost to the bacteria, and if you throw in the immune system and other competitive bacteria that may not be pathogenic, those 'super bacteria' may be less super. All that said, as a microbiologist, antibiotic resistance terrifies me, with the current economics of new drug development being as daunting as the technical challenges.