In an interview, microbiologist Markus Egert told me a sentence that still sends cold shivers down my spine: "Microbes were the first inhabitants on this planet and they will be the last." I wonder how people in 100 years will look back on our efforts to deal with the growing danger of multidrug-resistant bacteria. Could it be a death sentence for these people to sting a rose while gardening?
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Issue 42/2019
NEVER AGAIN?
The assassination of Halle and the everyday hatred of Jews in GermanyDigital Edition | Printed issues | Apps | SUBSCRIPTION
This scenario is very real and could happen much earlier than 100 years from now. The facts are daunting: more and more germs of the nasty variety are resistant to antibiotics. Because the development of effective antibiotics is very expensive, but their duration of action is relatively short, the pharmaceutical industry has almost completely outgrown this mark. Only a handful of reserve antibiotics still separate us from conditions like in the Middle Ages - at least as far as the handling of deadly germs is concerned.
picture alliance / BSIP
We still have our scientists, you may call them hopeful. But how much hope can we legitimately place in their work? These days, a study by researchers at the University of Bonn caused a stir. The authors of the study boast of having first detected the pathway of a dangerous germ in a children's hospital via a washing machine. The work of these scientists is worthy of all honor. On closer inspection, however, it also reveals a considerable amount of helplessness.
It has long been known that washing machines can be a pleasant habitat for microbes (water!). In addition, the researchers used for testing just a washing machine in the hospital kitchen. Because of the danger for the seriously ill and immune-compromised, however, the laundry is now usually washed in special-purpose machines or treated with chemo-thermal disinfectants even in provincial hospitals.
Maybe you feel the same way when you turn on the news: One could almost get the impression that half of the earth's population now consists of climate activists (the other half are the deniers of global warming and those who pollute the air). To rebel against pollution is sexy and morally impeccable. The use against multidrug-resistant germs, on the other hand, is quite unimpressive. The danger that emanates from them is no less great for mankind.
Unfortunately, there is no forum for giving the pharmaceutical industry a theatrical "How dare you!" could throw. Probably that would not even be appropriate. And are not we all responsible for the looming disaster? Many people seriously believe that they themselves become immune to the effects of antibiotics. However, any antibiotic pack that has not been taken to the last tablet will help promote possible resistance.
The place of the Greta, which advances as a symbolic figure in the fight against the Killerkeime, is still to occupy, dear readers. Are you interested?
warmly
Your Frank Thadeusz
Feedback & suggestions?
Abstract
My reading recommendations this week
- If you are one of those smokers who have postponed their abstinence for the time being to 01/01/2020, maybe this research donates a little comfort - at least until 31.12.2019.
- Astray, right? In the meantime a whole lot of people are living in Germany who were not even in the world when the Chernobyl nuclear disaster occurred on April 26, 1986. With the consequences of the reactor accident, however, even the late-born must still live today - at least if they go on wild mushroom search in Bavaria.
- No less insane: a good 33 years after the nuclear catastrophe, it is possible for the first time to travel to its epicenter for tourists - to the legendary-infamous reactor 4.
- Every year, more than 2,000 bears hibernate in Katmai National Park, Alaska. The Parkranger make it fun, every year to create a top list of those sneaks that say goodbye to the roundest in the winter break. Even the most modern technology is used.
Elementary Particles - The Weekly Science Newsletter. Elementarteilchen is free and lands every Saturday around 10 clock in your mailbox. Subscribe to the newsletter here:
Quiz*
- How many websites can the internet reach in North Korea?
- What is an "aha ha"?
- Which fish can claim the title as the largest heavyweight of the seas?
* The answers can be found at the bottom of the newsletter.
Picture of the week
Adrià López Baucells / 2019 Royal Society of Biology Photography Competition
Mammals on the approach: The Royal Society of Biology in London has chosen a particularly lively theme for its photography competition this year: they were invited to take snapshots of animals in motion. The contender for the main prize is this shot of a dwarf bag rat native to the Brazilian town of Manaus, whose body posture and trajectory are strikingly similar to those of a frog in the hopping movement.
footnote
200 to 600 hertz is the frequency range in which sharks respond particularly well to noises. These frequencies reach many rock musicians - a circumstance that causes the American hard rock band Kiss to a bizarre field test: On November 18, the strongly made-up musicians on the south coast of Australia want to give a concert that should be heard on the speakers under water. The artists hope to attract as many sea predators as possible with their songs.
The SPIEGEL + - Recommendations from science
- Anthropology: From cave paintings to Grimm's fairy tale - researchers on the trail of mankind's myths
- Environment: Why the recycling of lithium-ion batteries fails
- Mobility: The new cult of old bicycles - the historic tour of Eroica through Tuscany
* Quiz answers: Access to the Internet is heavily regulated in North Korea. Those lucky enough to surf can access up to 5500 websites. By comparison, Internet users in Germany have access to nearly two trillion homepages. / An Australian wasp species unknown until 1977, which the insectologist Arnold Menke from Scherz so named. Allegedly, Menke said, after seeing the insect for the first time: "Aha, a new species!" Whereupon a colleague answered: "Ha!" That's how the name of the black and yellow animal was born. / Contrary to its graceful appearance, the moonfish weighs over three tons and weighs more than two tons. In proportion to its size, this is more mass than having a blue whale.
