ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE
Cells are the structural and functional units of all living organisms. It is the smallest unit of life that is classified as a living thing, except for viruses, and is often called the building block of life. Some organisms, such as bacteria, are unicellular, consisting of a single cell. Other organisms, such as humans, are multicellular, or have many cells—an estimated 100,000,000,000,000 cells! Every cell is amazing; it can take in nutrients, convert these nutrients into energy, carry out specialized functions, and reproduce as necessary. Even more amazing is that each cell stores its own set of instructions for carrying out each of these activities.
“EVERY CELL IS
AMAZING; IT CAN TAKE IN NUTRIENTS AND REPRODUCE AS NECESSARY.” Organisms can be classified as unicellular; consisting of a single cell; including most bacteria, or multicellular; including plants and animals. Humans contain about 100 trillion cells. Most plant and animal cells are between 1 and 100 micrometres and therefore are visible only under the microscope. The word cell comes from the Latin cella, meaning “small room”. This term was coined by Robert Hooke when he compared the cork cells he saw through his microscope to the small rooms monks lived in.
IMPOSSIBLE
TO DESTROY
The human immune system uses a number of tactics to fight pathogens. The pathogen’s job is to evade the immune system, create more copies of itself, and spread to other hosts. Characteristics that help a virus do its job tend to be kept from one generation to another. Characteristics that make it difficult for the virus to spread to another host tend to be lost.
Take, for example, a virus that has a mutation that makes it particularly deadly to its human host and kills the host within a few hours of infection. The virus needs a new, healthy host for its descendents to survive. If it kills its host before the host infects others, that mutation will disappear. Viruses evolve and change constantly, resulting in a strand of organism that becomes near indestructible.
BACTERIAL INFILTRATION When you are fighting off a bacterial infection, your immune system can be overwhelmed by the invading bugs. Antibiotics are thrown into the fray to mount a defense against the invaders until your immune system can recover and finish off the remaining bacteria. How do antibiotics stave off bacterial growth? Antibiotics stop or interfere with a number of everyday cellular processes that bacteria rely on for growth and survival, such as crippling production of the bacterial cell wall that protects the cell from the external environment, interfering with protein synthesis by binding to the machinery that builds proteins, amino acid by amino acid, and blocking synthesis of DNA. Antibiotics stop working because bacteria come up with various ways of countering these actions, such as: Preventing the antibiotic from getting to its targetWhen you really don’t want to see someone, you
might find yourself doing things like hiding from them or avoiding their phone calls. Bacteria employ similar strategies to keep antibiotics at bay. Bacteria do this by changing the permeability of their membranes or by reducing the number of channels available for drugs to diffuse through. Changing the target- Many antibiotics work by sticking to their target and preventing it from interacting with other molecules inside the cell. Some bacteria respond by changing the structure of the target (or even replacing it within another molecule altogether) so that the antibiotic can no longer recognize it or bind to it. Destroying the antibiotic- This tactic takes interfering with the antibiotic to an extreme. Rather than simply pushing the drug aside or setting up molecular blockades, some bacteria survive by neutralizing their enemy directly.
STRENGT INFEC
ANTIBIOTICS BECOME IN TIVE AGAINST BACTERIA NOT COMPLETE T
THENING CTION
NCREASINGLY INEFFECA BECAUSE PEOPLE DO THE FULL COURSE.
DOES THE ANSWER LIE IN ALTERNATIVE MEDICINES?
There are more than 100,000 different species of fungi known to man, and they come in many and varied forms such as; molds, mildew, mushrooms, yeasts, etc. Parasitic Fungi feed on living plants, animals and decaying organic matter. They also cause diseases such as: athlete’s foot, jock itch, shaving rash, nail infections, ringworm, dandruff, and selected respiratory infections. Candida albicans, a yeast, causes thrush infections and yeast infections, and is part of the diverse fungi family. Our pets can become infected with fungal skin diseases too. Thank goodness that tea tree oil is an effective natural anti fungal medicine! The great thing about it is that it can be easily diluted and applied, whatever the infection, because it is a valuable broad-spectrum anti-microbial substance. Several herbs have the ability to knock out excess fungus, bringing the levels back to a healthy normal. Others can be effective in strengthening the immune system. The bark of the pau d’arco tree has achieved folk-remedy status as a treatment for fungal infections, including vaginal yeast infections and athlete’s foot. Researchers have examined its infection-fighting powers and have pinpointed lapachol as being the bark’s possible active ingredient. It can be taken in the form of capsules, extract, or tea. Goldenseal is one of the most commonly used herbs for its immuneboosting properties, and it is also believed effective in stabilizing the overgrowth of fungus. It’s often administered as a douche. One group of subjects is given a medicine with the active ingredient, while another is given dummy preparations - placebos. Neither group knows which they are getting. So far, several such trials have shown promising results for alternative therapies - 29 trials have shown that acupuncture can reduce nausea after operations and three have shown that homeopathic remedies can help subdue hayfever.
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