Bacteria have an "internal" clock
Last reviewed: 16.10.2021
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At the State University of Australia, experts concluded that bacteria have their own "internal" clocks that differ from human ones, in addition, they can affect the functioning of the human body.
Jeff McFelden, the author of the new research project, is sure that if during the treatment to take into account the progress of the "bacterial" internal clock, the effectiveness of the therapy will be several times higher.
In Chicago, a team of specialists supported colleagues from Australia, they are also confident that during the "active behavior" or "sleep" of bacteria, the human body may be more sensitive to treatment, in particular, to the action of antibacterial drugs.
With the joint efforts of the research team from Chicago and Melbourne (Australia), it was proved that during treatment it is important to take into account the "internal" clock of bacteria. Experts note that the effect of antibiotics is more effective during the "active behavior" of bacteria, because it is in this phase that bacteria are more sensitive to this group of drugs.
In the laboratory, a group of experts conducted an experiment, and as a result they managed to understand the microbial management scheme.
Dr. Michael Rast used cyanobacteria (the earliest form of life) in his studies. According to Dr. Rast, the condition of these bacteria depends on the rays of the sun, as photosynthesis is a way of feeding cyanobacteria. It turns out that at night such bacteria starve, their activity slows down, ie, they fall into a kind of "hibernation", and in the daytime they are active and growing. In Dr. Rast's research, the sun's rays were replaced with sugar, and the theory was confirmed - the replacement of the diet helped to change the way of life of bacteria, and their "internal" clocks were made to work simultaneously with various metabolic processes.
Scientists suggest that this discovery in the future will allow them to learn how to make the bacteria fulfill certain goals, for example, to use them for the transplantation of medicines or for purification at a certain time.
In the future, thanks to this method, a medicine for malaria can be invented. Dr. Jeff McFadden is currently engaged in research in this field. We of malaria also has "internal" watch over the secret and which is now working group McFadden. If researchers can disclose it, then soon a drug will be developed from malaria, taking into account the "internal" time of parasites.
Another interesting work was the discovery of Japanese scientists who found a new type of bacteria that feed on electricity. About new microorganisms became known relatively recently, the discovery was made by scientists from the University of Tokyo. Bacteria live in the oceans at great depth, they prefer to settle near hot springs. One of these bacteria was investigated by the Japanese, they placed it in a special vessel and put a current of 1/3 V through it. This led to the fact that the bacterium increased by 30% in just a few seconds, and it became much darker.
This experiment indicates that the bacteria used energy. According to Japanese researchers, the discovery can change the development of science.