GreenWatch

B. McPherson Copper metal kills bacteria. Copper plated push plates on doors cut infections. Horse poop has long been known as great for gardens, but save your life? Mushroom growers know that horse manure is ideal for producing those delectable morsels. A mushroom of a different kind – the inky cap( Coprinus comatus ) has researchers hot on the trail of a new antibiotic. The promising new compound is copsin, a protein substance that interferes with cell wall formation. Bacteria have cell walls. Scientists are reproducing the substance via genetically modified yeast. It is a long way from growing yeast in small scale batches to industrial production and clinical trials. Medical researchers have been sounding the alarm about multi-resistant bacterial infections. Gradually, as an antibiotic comes into widespread use, it loses its ability to kill bacteria. When penicillin was first produced it could wipe out nearly any infection, revolutionizing modern medicine.  Othe...

B. McPherson The US Food and Drug Administration is proposing a change in how antibiotics are used in the agriculture industry. If accepted, sweeping changes will be made in the way food animals are raised in the USA.   You may have noticed TV ads recently touting fast food outlets bragging about their meat being antibiotic and hormone free. Few people realize that the majority of antibiotics produced today are given to food animals, not because the animals are sick, but because the judicious application of antibiotics promotes faster growth and more efficient use of animal feed. The constant low-level dosing of animals destined for the dinner plate has resulted in the gradual loss of effectiveness of medically important antibiotics. Bacteria are adept at adapting to changing conditions and dosed at low levels can fairly quickly develop resistant strains. Tetracyclines, penicillin, azithromycin are unable to curb many bacterial infections due to overuse, mainly in the a...