From: The New York Times, April 17, 2017
Summary:
Scientists recently discovered a substance in the blood of a komodo dragon that is very adept at destroying bacteria. The substance was able to destroy the cell walls of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria as well as break down biofilms and speed skin healing.
Connections:
This specifically ties in to what we have been discussing in class about the problem of growing antibiotic resistance. As antibiotics are being overused more and more bacteria are becoming resistant. Its essential that we keep looking for new ways to treat our illnesses.
Critical Analysis:
While this article did not sound overly scientific, it did have a lot of credible resources behind it. It was definitely targeted to a general audience and I would have liked if they had gone into more specifics on this ‘substance’ they found.
Question:
I’m curious about the function of this microbial ‘substance’ in the komodo dragon. Is it part of its immune system? How did it evolve?