Understanding Plant-Soil Interaction Could Lead to New Ways to Combat Weeds

Rachael Pine

Understanding Plant-Soil Interaction Could Lead to New Ways to Combat Weeds

 

I bet you among many other people are worried about the pesticides used in controlling weeds in crops. As well as being worried about GMO’s, genetically modified organisms, and the possible effects that can happen to humans in the future by the consumption of GMO’s. Microbial ecologist Tony Yannarell and colleagues from the University of Illinois have identified soil microbes that affect ragweed’s negatively. This has provided a new understanding of the relationships between plants and microorganisms happening beneath the soil. Tony Yannarell said that adding microbes to the soil has never been successful in the past, and the best approach is to introduce plants that attract microbe that are bad for ragweed’s.

This idea is fantastic it allows farmers to use this technique to help keep weeds away and this same plan can be used to attract microbes that can fight against pests and insects from harming the crops. It will help stop the use of GMO’s and harmful pesticides and human consumptions of these chemicals and GMO’s; along with the future problems they can create. This can give people more organic food as well as the possibility of becoming cheaper and more affordable allowing our country to become healthier.

            To be honest I never knew that some plants could attract microorganisms to prevent or attack weeds, pests, or insects from attacking the crops being grown. I thought the only way to remove them would to be constant attention to pull or remove them as well as using chemicals to prevent the crops from being harmed.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/03/140325133548.htm

Scientists find new strategy to combt bacterial infections

Well it seems that scientists are finding an increasing number of bacteria that is becoming antibiotic resistance. This gives scientists a challenge in trying to create an antibiotic that can kill or disrupt bacteria from growing. But they have found a new drug to treat bacterial infections particularly uti’s (urinary tract infections). However this drug does not destroy pathogenic bacteria but disarms them. This helps the useful bacteria to become unharmed and a lower risk of development and spread of resistance of the bacteria.

Hopefully this will be utilized in other areas of bacterial infections and help keep other antibiotic’s from hurting other parts of the body. Such as penicillin; penicillin causes yeast infections in most people. If this new strategy works it will prevent those patients from getting yeast infections and will cause them to get better faster. 

 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140129075808.htm

Antibiotic ‘smart bomb’ can target specific strains of bacteria

Rachael Pine

Antibiotic ‘smart bomb’ can target specific strains of bacteria

            This article mentions how they have developed an antibiotic that can identify certain strains of bacteria and dissolve their DNA abolishing the infection. This system approach helps treat infections with a multi-drug resistant bacterium. Typically conventional antibiotic treatments tend to kill both good and bad bacteria that can harm the patient causing even more illness, causing the patient to go back to the doctor to get more antibiotics that will cause other illnesses. According to this new approach takes advantage of a part of the immune system present in many bacteria called CRISPR-Cas system. This protects bacteria from invaders like viruses and making small strands of RNA called CRISPR RNA’s.

            This advancement will help many people from getting ill and causing patients to not get yeast infections or other possible illnesses that can harm the patient(s). Hopefully this will help future patients, and who knows maybe this technique will be utilized and tuned to kill other bacteria strains.

  

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140130110953.htm