May 26th, 2008 ecoli
I’ve been sitting on this one for a while now, wondering on how best to approach it.
For our anniversary, my girlfriend got me this box of 12 #2 Antimicrobial Pencils from Ticonderoga.
My first thought was, “WTF is wrong with the world” quickly followed by a “Why would you get this for me?” to my girlfriend. She shrugged and said “you like bacteria.”
Well, I guess I like them so much that she thought I should contribute to the growing problem of bacterial resistance to commercial antibiotics by introducing a new source of a completely useless product.
According to the front of the box:
Microban protection inhibits the growth of odor and stain causing bacteria
and according to Wikipedia:
Microban International, Ltd. produces chemicals used for antimicrobial product protection. These persistent chemicals provide antimicrobial properties in consumer, industrial and medical products… The broad application of the Microban product in everything from cutting boards to flooring, along with its long life in the product and hence the environment, has raised some concerns about the long term effects of its promiscuous use.
This could be a made up statistic, but 48.5 out of 50 microbiologists agree that the concept of Microban products is one of the stupidest they’ve heard in a while.
We’re overusing antimicrobial agents in everything from flooring, pencils and our colons. It’s no wonder that widespread antibiotic resistance is wreaking havoc in the medical field. Haven’t we seen in the recent spread of drug resistant superbugs, like MRSA)shown us the dangers of overusing antibiotics?
Apparantly not, because companies like Microban will not be satisfied until their antimicrobial products are in the lining of every pot and in the flooring of every garage. Just looking at that insidious green packaging, in it’s environmentally friendly guise, is making me angry.
I can see the attractiveness of wanting to put antibiotics into pencils, sort of. I suppose if you happen to be an elementary school teacher who’s students slobber all over their pencils, it could help stop the spread of germs,if they happen to share their pencils. But, this still, is going too far.
Bacteria will quickly build up resistance to these types of antibiotics, which is dangerous because of the increased virulence associated with increased resistance. So, instead of a few relatively harmless bacteria on your pencil, you’ve got lots of harmful bacteria.
This simple fact speaks to a larger ignorance in the general public about the simple fact that antimicrobial products become less effective when they’re overused. As a result, the doctor’s treatment arsenal is getting smaller, and science simply cannot produce new antibiotic agents as quickly as they are needed.
I am going to send an email to Microban International, Ltd to give them a piece of my mind, and I urge all my readers to do the same. Perhaps we can pressure them into at least recognizing the potential problem associated with their company.
(my email - feel free to use this version or modify as needed for your own letters)
I am writing as a student in microbiology and biochemistry to express my concern about the general content and implications of your Microban products.
As you may or may not know, antimicrobial products are important tool in medicine and treating infectious diseases, however, their overuse is leading to a serious health problem.
This company, which seeks to put antimicrobial products into everything from flooring to pencils, is doing the public a great disservice. It is important to realize that not all bacteria or fungi are killed by antimicrobials, and that the pathogens that survive are often the strongest and most virulent of the population. These organisms are also largely resistant to antimicrobials.
Therefore, as more antimicrobials enter general use, they become less effective. This is annoying problem for those concerned with household odors. This is an potential public health catastrophe to those, like myself, who can envision what the overuse of antimicrobial products will bring.
In the news we see with cases like the MRSA superbug, which have been able to outmaneuver our antibiotics faster than science can produce them, and the result is often fatal (to children). This is one of hundreds of different cases of virulent diseases made worse by overuse of antibiotics.
I write to urge this company to reconsider the way it approaches and applies it’s products.
Right now, overuse of antimicrobials is a nuisance, but in the future it could become a real health epidemic if this overuse is continued. If Microban International, Ltd. truly cares about the public good and its consumer base, it will seriously reconsider its business approach.
Sincerely and respectfully,
Posted in business, education, environment, evolution, microbiology, musings | 3 Comments »
May 25th, 2008 ecoli
I need to save money on gas and I need exercise, so I’m planning on killing two birds on two wheels.
Since I haven’t biked seriously since I was much smaller, probably middle school, my bike would be too small, if it hadn’t already been thrown out. I could buy a new one, but my parents have two older bikes hanging up in the shed that I figured I would try out… you never know, they might not be in that bad shape.
Back in the magical year of 1983, my parents were married and bought semi-matching bicycles for themselves (or perhaps they were gifts). At any rate, like everything built before the 1990s, it seems as if the bikes were built to last.
On one of the bikes, the chain was stuck between the gear and the frame, but that was easily fixable. The kickstand is a little wobbly, but the breaks will certainly have to be replaced.
The other bike is in better shape. I tightened the kickstand on that bike, adjusted the seat and handlebars. The brakes are in good condition and the gear shift works properly. I’m not sure when the tires or tubes were last replaced, but presumably it wasn’t that long ago. I filled them up and there doesn’t seem to be any leaks.
The latter bike was my dad’s. I prefer it to the other one because of the nice blue color, its in better condition (relatively speaking) but mostly because of the brandname. It’s called “Soma.” Who doesn’t want to ride a bicycle named after the mind altering drug from Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World?
I didn’t feel like taking pictures for this post, but it seems as if this guy on Craig’s list has almost exactly the same bike:
My original estimate was that the trip to my lab was about 10 miles, which I guess would take about an hour. However, I mapped out the route on google maps, and it’s only a 7.6 mile trip, which I think is doable with some training.
I timed myself on a 2 mile trip, up and down my street, and it took me 11 minutes and 47 seconds. I figure that it will take 45 min to an hour to make the trip, depending on how tired I am.
I’m thinking I should train for at least a week before I attempt the trip for real. I’m an out-of-shape nerd, and after 2 miles today, I definitely felt my legs cramp up a bit (though not as bad as I was expecting). I also need to get used to riding with a backpack on.
I need to invest in a water bottle holder for the bike as well as review mirror. It can be quite disconcerting relying on hearing alone to guess when a car is going to pass, and only a small part of the route has sidewalks.
Certain things I’m going to have to get used to; making sure my work doesn’t suffer because of the longer travelling time, (and along the same lines) getting used to dealing with leg cramps at work, eating more calories (this might get just as expensive as using my car for this reason!), bringing a change of clothes, or at least a shirt, with me so my colleuges don’t kick me out… or at least subject me to the emergency shower!
Posted in environment, musings | 2 Comments »
May 25th, 2008 ecoli
Skulls in the Stars challenge is ongoing. Yours truly entered his before the weekend. You can see a list of all the entries so far here.
Some highlights from the competition:
Attention all bloggers. The deadline for submission is May 30th, so there’s still time left to become part of this historic occasion.
Posted in link out, news | No Comments »
May 22nd, 2008 ecoli
This blog post is my entry for Skull’s in the stars’s challenge.
- Beadle and Tatum, 1941
About 15 years before Watson and Crick proposed a model for DNA and back when scientists were in disagreement about how genetic information was actually stored, there was the Beadle and Tatum experiment. 
In 1941, American geneticists George Beadle and Edward Tatum, at Stanford University, rediscovered the ideas of the British physician, Archibald Garrod; who, in 1909, proposed that a single gene was responsible for the production of a single protein. Garrod was studying an inherited disease known as alkaptonuria, the production of red colored urine due to an enzyme deficiency.
Based on this work, which had gone largely ignored until then, Beadle and Tatum proposed that, if the “one gene, one enzyme” hypothesis is true, they should be able to produce mutant organisms (in this case the bread mold, Neurospora crassa) with a single gene mutation, corresponding to a single defunct enzyme.
Keep in mind, this is before DNA and cloning experiments and long scientists knew how to produce specific genetic knockouts. Beadle and Tatum, therefore, had to induce non-specific mutations with x-ray and UV radiation. But, by controlling the growth media of the Neurospora, they were able to identify single mutations in biochemical pathways of amino acid synthesis.
Mutated Neurospora was grown in a medium containing all 20 biological amino acids, and the mutated spores were subsequently crossed with wild type spores. Next, the next generation of spores were grown in a medium containing one one of the essential amino acids. If, for example, there was a mutation in a protein that synthesized proline, then the spore would only grow if proline was in the medium (For more background information on amino acid biosynthesis pathways, this is a good resource). Using this method, they were able to link the mutation of a specific gene (which was demonstrated in 1926 by Hermann Joseph Muller) the disfunction of an enzyme related to the synthesis of a specific amino acid.
As in interesting side note to the overall purpose of the experiment, was that they discovered a way by which they could determine the complexity of a specific pathway, by describing pivotal genes, and their enzymes:
in addition to minimal media controlling just the amino acid content, other vitamins and nutrients where also controlled, vitamin B6, for example they realized they could use their technique in a different way. This was a method which they could use to discover entire new pathways, discovering what vitamins and nutrients are essential to growth, and what pathways they are involved in:
The Beadle and Tatum experiment was later revised to include all classes of polypeptides, and not just enzymes, into the “one gene” idea. But, it was their work that was seminal in providing a to link the fields of biochemistry and genetics, providing a way to look at biochemical pathways and protein enzymes through the lens of genetic information, paving the way for later scientists like Watson and Crick, and many others.
Beadle and Tatum shared a Noble Prize in Medicine or Physiology (1958) for their work. A copy of their original paper can be viewed here, I believe for free.
Posted in biochemistry, genetics, microbiology, musings | 2 Comments »
May 21st, 2008 ecoli
… of evolutionary biology that’s utterly their own.
Not exactly rocket science
This serves to demonstrate what tricks evolution can pull, when faced with unique conditions and new stresses. It’s interesting the amino acid uniqueness seen in snake proteins not seen in any other animal.
Posted in evolution, link out | No Comments »
May 20th, 2008 ecoli
Today was the school budget vote, held in my district’s elementary school. They also have the elementary school science fair at the same time as a way to get parents in to vote.
I remember participating in the science fairs in elementary school back in the day and I must say, though I wouldn’t trust my memory completely on this one, that the overall quality of the project has gone up considerably.
Of course, there were plenty of generic projects, like “do plants grow well in sunlight” and “how many popcorn kernals stay unpopped.” Some of them weren’t really experiments, but demonstrative ‘engineering’ type things, like using potatoes as a battery to turn on a light bulb. The silliest project was probably the one that compared the sinking rates of a rock and a piece of paper in water.
But there were definitely a lot of interesting ones. For example, testing the mass-independence of gravitational acceleration, conservation of proportions of salt content in marine water, and “at what temperature water freezes the fastest” (it was room temp).
All of these projects are independent of teacher, but with plenty of parental advising I’m sure. So, to see elementary school kids exploring relatively advanced scientific concepts is heartening. I even saw one experiment (effect of temperature on goldfish metabolic rate) that we did in a 200 level biology lab. There were probably around 500 poster boards and most of them where serious, if ‘elementary’ investigations.
To me, this means that, at least in my school, they are taking a serious approach to science. Not only teaching kids to learn principles, but teaching them how to think like scientists. Of course, parents probably helped on most if not all of the projects, but that’s in no way a bad thing. It just means that parents today are not ignorant about science. They want there children to learn science, and they have the capacity to help their children manage a scientific investigation.
Now, a few projects were lacking in the way they applied the scientific method, didn’t have the right controls, etc. But I think that’s a minor point, overall. Fostering a love for science early is the important thing; the details can come later. I’m feeling pretty confidant about the future of science right now.
Posted in education, musings | 2 Comments »
May 20th, 2008 ecoli
As some of you might be aware, I’m currently beginning the Medical school application process. I just signed up for the MCATs today (taking it August 5th).
What I thought was cool, was that AMCAS used Google maps and google directions integrated into their site.
I’m glad to see AMCAS has decided to go with google rather an inferior service (like mapquest). It’s making me a little more hopeful for med school
Posted in musings | No Comments »
May 15th, 2008 ecoli
Those of you who are SFN members probably realize I’m not dead, for the rest of you, it might not be so obvious. I have 5 days of finals left for the semester, so that’s taking up most of my time.
I’m also, as a new Linux user, slowly trying to figure out how to debug Mandriva 2008.
That’s all for now… I’m off to take part in the “Midnight Scream”
Posted in musings | 1 Comment »
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