Post by Renegade on Aug 28, 2009 20:50:09 GMT -5
Well, I have decided that once a week I will post either a marvel of the scientific world or a mystery of the historical world. Some of these are truly incredible, and I hope this ends up being something you guys respond well to. ANYWAYS! Let's begin with our first fasinating piece of the world, shall we?
Did you know...?
The human body is essentially a biological weapon waiting to be turned against us. How is this you ask? Well you see, only 10% of the cells found within our body are actually human. This includes skin cells, red and white blood cells, brain cells, ALL CELLS. If that's the case, what make up the other 90%? Well that's the scary part, the other 90% of our body is made up of bacteria of all kinds. While the vast majority, if not all, of this bacteria is completely harmless, there is the potential that it COULD one day evolve into something deadly. With the human cells in our body outnumbered so badly, our body would not have much defense against these bacteria.
Now the likelihood of something like this happening is very minute, however it is a possibility according to scientific theory. For example Bacillus anthracis, or anthrax as its better known, is a very harmful bacteria. However this isn't the normal form that this bacteria takes, it's normally a harmless bacteria found in the ground by the name of Bacillus cereus. These to bacteria are nearly identical in genetic code, so what makes one so hostile, while the other is so docile. Why is that? The answer is this:
Bacillus anthracis has two plasmids, named pX01 and pX02, that form two rings around the bacteria. These two rings are what change the peaceful Bacillus cereus into the hostile killer it is in the form of anthrax. It is this very thing that many scientists fear happening to the bacteria within our bodies, a bological threat that we cannot prevent. There is a book that explores this topic further titled "Human Wildlife" by Dr. Robert Buckman. That is my fascinating marvel for this week!
Did you know...?
The human body is essentially a biological weapon waiting to be turned against us. How is this you ask? Well you see, only 10% of the cells found within our body are actually human. This includes skin cells, red and white blood cells, brain cells, ALL CELLS. If that's the case, what make up the other 90%? Well that's the scary part, the other 90% of our body is made up of bacteria of all kinds. While the vast majority, if not all, of this bacteria is completely harmless, there is the potential that it COULD one day evolve into something deadly. With the human cells in our body outnumbered so badly, our body would not have much defense against these bacteria.
Now the likelihood of something like this happening is very minute, however it is a possibility according to scientific theory. For example Bacillus anthracis, or anthrax as its better known, is a very harmful bacteria. However this isn't the normal form that this bacteria takes, it's normally a harmless bacteria found in the ground by the name of Bacillus cereus. These to bacteria are nearly identical in genetic code, so what makes one so hostile, while the other is so docile. Why is that? The answer is this:
Bacillus anthracis has two plasmids, named pX01 and pX02, that form two rings around the bacteria. These two rings are what change the peaceful Bacillus cereus into the hostile killer it is in the form of anthrax. It is this very thing that many scientists fear happening to the bacteria within our bodies, a bological threat that we cannot prevent. There is a book that explores this topic further titled "Human Wildlife" by Dr. Robert Buckman. That is my fascinating marvel for this week!
