Word: bacterias
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...lenses can be worn for weeks because they contain many more tiny pores than traditional soft lenses, allowing an increased supply of oxygen and water to reach and nourish the cornea. But the myriad pores encourage the buildup of deposits on the lenses, creating a perfect breeding ground for bacteria. The resulting infection spreads to the cornea and can cause partial or complete blindness in just 24 hours. Even if the problem is caught and treated early, Kenyon says, a scar often remains, interfering with vision...
Trouble may also occur because the lenses are worn at night. With eyes shut and lenses in place, says Doughman, the oxygen supply to the cornea may be reduced enough so that, in some cases, the corneal cells are damaged, thus making the eye vulnerable to attack by bacteria...
Users are often at fault. Some wear the lenses longer than their doctors recommend or fail to clean them properly when they are removed, allowing the buildup of deposits and proliferation of bacteria. Others ignore early signs of trouble. "Continuing to wear these lenses after the eyes have become red or uncomfortable is like driving 80 m.p.h. in a 55-m.p.h. zone," warns Dr. James Aquavella of the University of Rochester. "When in doubt, take them...
...same time, however, scientists have come to appreciate what can be gained from decoding other genomes, from modern chimps and ancient cave bears to microscopic bacteria and viruses. As the cost of sequencing each base pair has dropped, from $10 in 1990 to less than 9¢ in 2002 to 1/10 of 1¢ today, researchers are doing more all the time. Although 99% of the planet's genomes have yet to be decoded, researchers have identified hundreds of thousands if not millions of genes, dwarfing the paltry 24,000 or so we carry...
...microbes could do the same thing. "I think it's doable within this decade," says Patrinos, "that we will develop a superbug that can make that conversion in a very clean way." Indeed, JGI, in collaboration with the San Diego-based biotech company Diversa, is sequencing communities of bacteria from the guts of termites in an effort to find genes that make hydrogen and ethanol. It's also looking for genes that enable microbes to metabolize radioactive waste...