How Our Immune System Backfires and Allows Bacteria Like Salmonella to Grow

Rachael Pine

How Our Immune System Backfires and Allows Bacteria Like Salmonella to Grow

            Did you ever think that your bodies’ defenses would ever betray you? We were always taught that the microorganisms in our body helped with taking care of our everyday functions, and that they helped keep us healthy. We were also told that when we got sick that our antibodies helped keep these bacteria and viruses at bay.

            Well that isn’t the case for this guy, researchers call him Interleukin-22 or IL-22 this is a immune protein. Il-22 helps protect against disease causing pathogens by separating metal ions like iron, zinc, and manganese from microbes. By doing this it is starving them of essential nutrients so they can’t grow and become dangerous. They still don’t understand how Salmonella escapes this and uses IL-22 to help grow. Researchers at the University of California found that IL-22 doesn’t protect the host against Salmonella but actually helps it grow. The Researchers even set up an experiment with mice some who have normal IL-22 and some who are lacking IL-22 and infected them with Salmonella. The mice that were lacking IL-22 got sicker faster than the normal mice. So it’s clear that whether you have a normal amount or lacking amount you will still get sick.

            Isn’t that amazing to think we have an immune protein that can make us sicker. Hopefully researchers will find out how it gets past IL-22 and stop it from happening; along with stopping it from helping it grow and hurting the host. At least that’s what we can all hope for.

"Superbugs" Found Breeding in Sewage Plants

Rachael Pine

“Superbugs” Found Breeding in Sewage Plants

            First off our sewage plants are meant to take care of sewage and make things like water usable again. I thought that we perfected this and there was no danger in doing this; and that the cleaning process would help us from using our entire water source. But, this article mentions how in china there has been a discovery of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (NDM-1) that does not respond to the traditional cleaning processes. Scientist’s also found that this bacteria can make common bacteria like E. coli, Salmonella etc. resistant to even the strongest antibiotics. Another thing that is scary is that doctors wont know if you are infected with NDM-1 until the symptoms wont respond to antibiotics. The scientists are still trying to understand these superbugs and how to stop them from getting pass the cleaning processes. One scientist suggested using ultraviolet light to kill these superbugs; however more studying and experiments need to be done before we can kill these superbugs.

            It’s terrifying to think that this new bacteria has grown and is getting passed our cleaning processes. Along with the fact that it can make other bacteria’s super bugs is scary as well. It’s like this NDM-1 is spinach and all these other bacteria is Popeye and when they eat it they turn super strong and can’t be stopped until it is too late. I for one hope that this will not reach the U.S. let alone the entire earth and if it does the scientist in china will have found a way to stop it, hopefully.    

  

Human Immune System Shapes Skin Microbiome

Rachael Pine

Human Immune System Shapes Skin Microbiome

 

This article is very interesting, it says that we all know that our body holds many types of microbes; some that is beneficial to our body and can be harmful diseases that can enter through opening in the skin. The author speaks on how that we can have a microbe imbalance based on where you collect your sample on your body. Some large amounts of microbes, for example, can be found behind your ear; a lower amount of microbes can be found in a place like the crease of your elbow. Our immune system might influence the types of microbes that live on our skin and possibly help to fend off dangerous infection.

It’s awesome to think that our bodies can do this kind of work to help protect our insides on the outside. Our immune system’s determining on how our skin grows and what kinds of microbes are allowed to be on our person. However, for people with skin problems like eczema have a harder time fending off these microbes because their skin is already ill and doesn’t repair as well as someone who doesn’t have eczema.

The use of this study is to possible to help patients in the future who have skin problems such as cancer patients or maybe temporary immune deficiency. If scientist can harness this technology and discovery; many people will be helped and saved and will never have to be miserable or scared that they might die. Especially cancer patients who have skin cancer and have a major possibly of dying. 

 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131029133542.htm