An Ode To E. Coli Case Study

An Ode to E. Coli
There is a natural human tendency to dismiss what we cannot see. This idea is based in evolutionary biology. Throughout most of human history, threats to our survival have been deadly predators . It is only natural then, that we should focus our concern on objects whose importance we can see. For this reason bacteria seem insignificant on the surface, its invisibility marking its lack of precedence as a threat. This is a misconception, because bacteria hold enormous power. It can heal and build, but also cripple and kill. It can produce sustainable fuel, and repair cracked concrete, but it can also destroy our bodies with infections and disease. In the past, we have been subject to bacteria, claiming lives long before we understood how it worked. Only recently has the opportunity arisen to harness the power of bacteria , and use it to solve the greatest
Coli is a frequent news maker. The rod shaped bacteria shows up frequently, cited in food recalls and consumer health warnings. What we don't often hear about are the scientific breakthroughs it is responsible for. For example, scientists have been able to feed sugar to a modified strain of E. Coli to make it secrete diesel fuel. Students at Newcastle University managed to create bacteria that could heal cracks in concrete walls, potentially eliminating the need for more costly traditional infrastructure repairs. Both of these technologies have enormous potential to help humanity as a whole, but the bacteria also has the power to harm and destroy. This is what most of us think of when we picture bacteria. MRSA is a circular bacteria that are known for being resistant to antibiotics. Severe cases can cause patients to lose limbs or even die. This is the tremendous power of bacteria. Less than 200 cells of MRSA can infect and kill a human being of an estimated 70 million cells. We have known about bacteria for 330 years of our 200,000 years on this planet, yet it has the power to shape our