|
9Local politics, the county, and the world, as viewed by Tammy Maygra Tammy’s views are her own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bill Eagle, his pastor, Tammy’s neighbors, Wayne Mayo, Betsy Johnson, Brad Witt, Former President Trump, Henry Heimuller, Joe Biden, Pat Robertson, Ted Cruz, Joe Biden’s dogs, or Claudia Eagle’s Cats. This Tammy’s Take (with the exception of this disclaimer) is not paid for or written by, or even reviewed by anyone but Tammy and she refuses to be bullied by anyone. See Bill’s Standard Disclaimer
|
|
New Breakthrough: Magnified Picture of a “Fighting Bot.”
Bacteria-fighting Microbots
Flu season, cold season, and pneumonia is something we have lived with and died with for eons. People who get pneumonia may have help on the way. People with blood diseases may benefit as well. Researchers have successfully eliminated deadly pneumonia infections from the lungs of mice by pouring armies of swimming microbots down the rodents' windpipes. The unconventional treatment, which directly targets the site of the infection, was 100% effective at curing infected mice and if follow-up studies show it also works in humans, could one day be used in people. The bacteria-fighting microbots are made from living microalgae that have two tails, that they use to swim through fluid mediums. Scientists covered the algae in tiny antibiotic-loaded nanoparticles, which slowly secrete the bacteria-killing chemicals throughout the lungs as the algae swim through them. Researchers infected two dozen mice with the bacteria which causes pneumonia in a range of animals, including humans. Half of the infected mice were given a dose of microbots and all made a full recovery within a week. But the other half, who were left untreated, all died within three days of being infected. The experiments are a significant proof of a new type of treatment for the new therapy, which could also be used on humans in the future. The microrobots could potentially improve antibiotic penetration to kill bacterial pathogens and save more people. Currently, bacterial pneumonia patients are treated with antibiotics by an IV, which delivers the medicine straight into the patient's bloodstream. But it takes time for the antibiotics to work their way through a patient's bloodstream to the lungs, which can be the difference between life and death for a critically ill patient. To compare the two methods, injecting microbots through the windpipe at which the algae's swimming ability naturally spreads them throughout the rest of the lungs. Which means that the antibiotics are accurately and quickly delivered to the site of the infection almost immediately. During IV injections, a large proportion of the antibiotics can also end up going to waste, which can reduce the effectiveness of treatments. With an IV injection, sometimes only a very small fraction of antibiotics will get into the lungs and in the severely ill people will die. With the sickest of these people they are sometimes on a ventilator which means the person already has a tube down their throats and the micr could easily be inserted into their lungs. IV antibiotics kill off the bacteria causing the disease. After that, patients must wait for the inflammation to recede naturally. Inflammation can leave long-term damage behind, and even when it doesn't, it takes a long time to subside on its own. Bed rest, anti-inflammatories and painkillers can help aid the healing process but tackling the inflammation early on has a better outcome. The microbots' anti-inflammatory effect is the nanoparticles that are stuck onto the microalgae. The antibiotic-containing capsules are covered in the cell membranes of neutrophils, a type of white blood cell that is part of the body's natural immune response. Neutrophils are designed to target inflamed cells and are covered in special structures called neutrophil extracellular traps. These NETs are able to trap and neutralize inflammatory molecules released by bacteria, which allows the microbots to mop up these nasty molecules as they swim through the lungs hunting down pneumonia-causing bacteria. Once the microbots have killed off the pathogens, immune cells digest the microbots. Because the microbots are made from completely natural materials, including a special biodegradable polymer that makes up the nanoparticles, there are no leftover chemicals that can cause any damage to the lungs. They will start doing tests on larger animals, and eventually used on humans, The microbots' ability to swim through the body also makes them great candidates for tackling other ailments, such as stomach and blood infections, diseases. And maybe cancers. Science is a wonderful thing, science is hope for people, hope for endangered species in cloning. As cloning gets better and better maybe we can save our world.
Tammy
|