Science Daily: Targeting Bacterial Gas Defenses Allow for Increased Efficacy of Numerous Antibiotics

Bacteria have pervaded the Earth ever since the dawn of the time. They are simple prokaryotic organisms that may multiply by binary fission to extraordinary amounts. That is why humans strive so hard to stop their action on our bodies as well as on other organisms. Antibiotics which first emerged in 1877 were the weapon that could be used to stop the onslaught. Although the results were spectacular at first, the bacteria developed resistance after only a few generations of exposure to the antibiotic (due to the DNA sharing in plasmids)

Bacillus anthracis

It has recently been recognized that H₂S (hydrogen sulphide) may play a large part in protecting bacteria from various antibiotics. H₂S acts as a general defense mechanism against oxidative stress, the process through which many antibiotics kill bacteria. This could prove to be a useful piece of information when considering when developing new techniques for the universal defence mechanism.

"In addition, the study demonstrates that bacteria that generate both H₂S and nitric oxide (NO) simultaneously, such as B. anthracis (a causative of anthrax), cannot survive without both gases, even under normal growth conditions."

 This could prove to be another step to rid the world of all dangerous bacteria that could destroy our way of life which is something that everyone craves.


http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111117144009.htm

New Scientist: Asteroids plummet

Most of you probably remember the 1998 film Armageddon  with Bruce Willis in the main role. A exploration team was sent to an asteroid on a collision course with the Earth. Bruce Willis of course single handedly destroyed the meteorite with a nuclear weapon preventing massive destruction to the planet.
However if it ever did crash in reality its effects would be horrendous. The impact would totally destroy the entire surrounding area for several miles. Over the course of the next few weeks dust would cover the sky preventing any sunlight from ever reaching the planet. After a few short months everything on the Earth would die since we depend on sunlight... or rather plants do.

Scientists have uncovered some very good news however.  It seems that there are fewer large asteroids that could potentially destroy life on Earth than previously thought. Using an infrared sky survey rather than reflected sunlight a team of scientists at NASA picked up the heat that the asteroids emit. It depends less on the colour on the rocks which was a unpredictable method to begin with.

The survey estimated that there are 20,000 'planet busters' in the vicinity of the Earth, half previously estimated. 981 of these 20,000 have been thoroughly analysed and their mean diameter is just under 1 km, easily a 'planet buster'. This means that we are less under threat than ever before, which is quite a good future. And when considering the words of the film  Armageddon : ''It happened before. It will happen again. It's just a question of when.'' The when seems to be a little bit farther away.


http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21128332.700-fewer-big-asteroids-stalk-earth-than-we-thought.html