Has man pinned the arm behind the back of Mother Nature? Have humans finally won this terrible pathogenic onslaught? Apparently not-the Era of Epidemics has risen once again, and it looks as if humans are being bumped off the top of the food chain. Bacteria are mutating into antibiotic-resistant monsters. One of the main reasons why this is is because of the mass antibiotic misuse that increases the chance of bacterial DNA mutation. Bacteria, like all living things, must adapt to survive. DNA mutation is often a mechanism for adaptation. Our misunderstanding and ignorant use of this miracle drug diminishes the miracle and results in the outburst of anti-microbial invulnerability. What humans need is not another miracle drug, but knowledge on the prevention of antibiotic misuse.

First, what are antibiotics? Antibiotics are chemical agents created by certain organisms, such as fungi or molds, which are capable of destroying or inhibiting the growth of bacteria. They act by interfering with the nucleic acid synthesis, peptidoglycan synthesis, protein synthesis, or the membrane integrity within the bacterial cell.[2] The prokaryotic bacterial cell does not have a nucleus,

Bacterial proliferation depends greatly on DNA and RNA synthesis. One of the enzymes involved in bacterial DNA replication is DNA gyrase. When DNA is being transcripted and replicated, the helix must be unzipped in order to be read, and it cannot bear any kinks or loops, lest it should be severely damaged or even broken by the tension of the twist and thus, cannot be read and transcripted. DNA gyrase relaxes the coiled strands and smoothes out the strand by breaking down the bond and releasing enzymes to relax the nick.[4] As we can see, DNA gyrase is essential to DNA replication. Some antimicrobial agents, such as Quinolone, inhibit bacterial DNA gyrase, rendering the chromosome unable to transcript and replicate.[1] Another target to attack is ribosomal RNA. Streptomycin, for example, prevents the initiation of protein synthesis, and causes the misreading of proteins being translated.[4] But when antibiotics are misused, a bacterium's genetic make-up will often mutate and cause the cell to become resistant to one or many types of antibiotics.

8. The Control of Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria. Stuart Harris and Harris. Academic Press, London and New York, 1982

however; its genes are composed mainly of two elements: chromosomes and plasmids. Plasmids are circular pieces of genetic material that replicate complementary to the chromosome, and are often the carrier of mutated genes that bestow resistance to antibiotics.[3]

Everyone should be concerned, or at least informed about the existence of antibiotic resistance. Not only concern, but valid information of the way antibiotics work and of the consequences of relying too much on a good thing, for the majority of antibacterial resistant organisms arise from the abuse and prolonged use of antibiotics selecting bacteria with mutated resistant genes. New and effective antibiotics are getting harder and harder to find. However, most antibiotics, even old ones, can and do have some effective uses today. The important thing is for these valuable drugs to be used widely and in a very proper manner, so as to limit the chances of natural selection of resistant strains. Prevention can be as simple as practicing proper hygiene, avoiding long-term use of a single antibiotic, the quarantine of contagious hospital patients, limiting the use of antibiotics only to medical uses, distributing the antibiotics at sufficient amounts, and merely following the directions of your doctor. As a final word of precaution, man should never assume that he could completely harness Mother Nature. As Ian Malcom says in Michael Crichton's novel, Jurassic Park, "Life finds a way."

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Approximate Word count = 2225
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)