Word: bacterias
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...Johns Hopkins Nobelist Hamilton Smith challenged Venter to do more. At the time, Venter was using a technique called shotgunning. In essence, shotgunning amounts to putting DNA into a chemical Cuisinart. High-frequency sound waves shred the long stringy molecule into tiny fragments. The fragments are cloned in bacteria, and then, following what has become standard gene-mapping procedure, the bugs are ripped open and their DNA is run through a gene-sequencing machine...
...word bacteria, and most folks conjure up images of a nasty germ like staphylococcus or salmonella that can make you really sick. But most bacteria aren't bad for you. In fact, consuming extra amounts of some bacteria can actually promote good health. These beneficial bacteria are available without a prescription in drug and health-food stores and in foods like yogurt. So far, the best results have been seen in the treatment of diarrhea, particularly in children. But researchers are also looking into the possibility that beneficial bacteria may thwart vaginal infections in women, prevent some food allergies...
...where have these good germs been lurking all your life? In your intestines, especially the lower section called the colon, which harbors at least 400 species of bacteria. Which ones you have depends largely on your environment and diet. An abundance of good bacteria in the colon generally crowds out stray bad bacteria in your food. But if the bad outnumber the good--for example, after antibiotic treatment for a sinus or an ear infection, which kills normal intestinal germs as well--the result can be diarrhea...
...people have restored the balance by eating yogurt, buttermilk or other products made from fermented milk. But nowadays, you can also down a few pills that contain freeze-dried germs. These preparations are called probiotics to distinguish them from antibiotics. Unfortunately, you can't always be sure that the bacteria in the products you buy are the same strains as those listed on the label or even that they're still alive. Probiotics are usually sensitive to both heat and moisture...
...workplace, but in some cases, like Polansky's, they can hang on for years, even after a worker has left a building. According to Dr. Claudia Miller of the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, repeated exposure to toxins given off by molds and bacteria may hypersensitize people to the point that they react to even low levels of these toxins. It may also weaken their tolerance to everyday chemicals in car exhaust, perfumes, cleaning agents and some foods and drugs...