Time lapse video shows evolution of bacteria into super drug resistant strain

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Overuse of antibiotics very well could be the downfall of humand

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I thought it would be a virus that would be the great depopulator of humanity but our ability to quickly devise vaccines seems to be getting very effective. Viruses adapt very fast but we can keep up with them.

Bacteria, as proved by this experiment, adapt at incredible speed. That makes sense because they've been doing it for billions of years. They're not as vulnerable as viruses since they don't have to use a host's cells to replicate. They just eat away and make more of themselves.

We may see the next great scourge come from the bacterial world, not viruses.

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Not a science junkie in this category, but, how does a strain evolve after being killed?

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Bacteria are extremely versatile creatures. When they invade a body, their ability to multiply quickly gives them an advantage over the body's immune system which rushes white cells, macrophages, to the point of entry in defense.

The white cells literally eat the invaders. In nature, this is the battle between bacteria and their hosts. Either the white cells eliminate all of the invaders and the animal or person regains health or the bacteria overwhelm the body's defense and the animal or person dies.

Humans have introduced an alternative, or aid, to the body's defenses. Antibiotics target certain bacteria and, even in cases wherein the bacteria would have defeated the immune system's warrior white cells, they reduce the bacteria numbers to a level that the immune system can handle. That's the ideal.

However, and it's a giant however, the bacteria have tricks up their figurative sleeves. Because they've been around for close to 4 billion years, they have already encountered almost everything that can kill them.

So, they carry around an incredible catalog of genes for combatting their chemical enemies. In every population of bacteria, there will be some few members who have a defense against a lot of things that could kill all of the others.

For example, let's say that a person contracts a tuberculosis infection and is given a rifampicin antibiotic for six months, the usual treatment. The rifampicin will kill most of the TB, but not all. There will be some that are resistant to the rifampicin.

Fortunately, in most cases, the bodies immune system will be able to kill the remaining resistant bacteria if the treatment regimen is followed to completion. If not, then the number of resistant bacteria can be too big for the body to eliminate by itself and can grow to fatal numbers for the host.

The resistant TB is now dominant in the unfortunate host and he will spread it to other people. This is how resistant TB is becoming a scourge in some countries and even in some American localities.

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In our body and on meds, the bacteria doesn't have long to evolve before it's eradicated.

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In a nutshell, bacteria evolved long ago to situations they now face with antibiotics. Whenever their numbers are knocked down by a particular drug, they always have at least a few members who are resistant to it. Thankfully, in most instances, the bodies immune system can take care of the rebels.