Word: staphylococcus
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...probably caused by the overuse of the wonder drug. According to figures released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control, more than 200 people in Minnesota and North Dakota have become ill - and four have died - after contracting a lethal strain of the staph germ known as staphylococcus aureus. Most disturbingly, the mutated germ apparently came not from the hothouse environment of hospitals - where it is common but considered manageable - but from somewhere outside...
...drifted in from a mycology lab one floor below. Luck would have it that Fleming had decided not to store his culture in a warm incubator, and that London was then hit by a cold spell, giving the mold a chance to grow. Later, as the temperature rose, the Staphylococcus bacteria grew like a lawn, covering the entire plate--except for the area surrounding the moldy contaminant. Seeing that halo was Fleming's "Eureka" moment, an instant of great personal insight and deductive reasoning. He correctly deduced that the mold must have released a substance that inhibited the growth...
...stuff of which scientific myths are made. Fleming, a young Scottish research scientist with a profitable side practice treating the syphilis infections of prominent London artists, was pursuing his pet theory--that his own nasal mucus had antibacterial effects--when he left a culture plate smeared with Staphylococcus bacteria on his lab bench while he went on a two-week holiday...
...because that would require cleaning my apartment. But once I found out about these easy-to-use antibacterial products (soap, Purell, body lotion, sponge, detergent, telephone swabs), I became obsessed. It reached its climax last month when I heard about the Killer Germ. The germ, a new strain of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria immune to antibiotics, had killed a middle-aged woman in Hong Kong. Normally, I wouldn't be afraid of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria because I don't know what it is. But Killer Germ I understood...
...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...