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> 100 million times do you know how many bacteria, all mutating and swapping genes, there are out there? also, dual therapy, particularly for TB has been used for years, but TB is still with us.
1/4 people carry TB in the world. Most asymptomatic.
TB been with humans as long as humans have been around, and it will be with humans as long as we're here.
Multidrug Resistent TB is a thing though.
sounds like they are underestimating nature here
It’s unclear why the same benefit couldn’t be achieved by mixing two traditional antibiotics with different mechanisms of action. Maybe the combined dosage would stress the liver too much?
Last year I was hospitalized and quarantined for Tuberculosis, which is fairly strong against antibiotics so the antibiotic therapy is 6 months long (minimum), and that's precisely how I was treated, by combining first 4 then 2 antibiotics in order to prevent the bacteria from developing resistance, but you're right, it's super bad for your liver, I've seen heavy alcoholic patients in the same ward that were refused…
Multiple mutations could also occur if the cells are being exposed to sublethal amounts of the antibiotic, say in sewers (which would also be an environment for evolution of enzymes to degrade the chemical.)
It’s unclear why the same benefit couldn’t be achieved by mixing two traditional antibiotics with different mechanisms of action. Maybe the combined dosage would stress the liver too much?
Bacteria can develop resistance to individual antibiotic mechanism. Then two strains can swap resistance genes to produce a super-bug: https://asm.org/articles/2023/january/plasmids-and-the-sprea... My understanding is that in this case bacteria would have to develop resistance to two mechanisms at the same time, which is much more difficult. Mandatory quote: "Life, uh, finds a way"
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Earlier quoted context omitted.
Bacteria can develop resistance to individual antibiotic mechanism. Then two strains can swap resistance genes to produce a super-bug: https://asm.org/articles/2023/january/plasmids-and-the-sprea... My understanding is that in this case bacteria would have to develop resistance to two mechanisms at the same time, which is much more difficult. Mandatory quote: "Life, uh, finds a way"
And if, in this case, life does find a way, then what? Is this not a recipe to create a super super bug?
There's always the possibility of a microbe/prion/other that can attack and consume all DNA based life forms. Or a 'nearby' gamma ray burst that sterilises everything within 200 light years.
It’s unclear why the same benefit couldn’t be achieved by mixing two traditional antibiotics with different mechanisms of action. Maybe the combined dosage would stress the liver too much?
Bacteria can develop resistance to individual antibiotic mechanism. Then two strains can swap resistance genes to produce a super-bug: https://asm.org/articles/2023/january/plasmids-and-the-sprea... My understanding is that in this case bacteria would have to develop resistance to two mechanisms at the same time, which is much more difficult. Mandatory quote: "Life, uh, finds a way"