> Now I'm on pins and needles, waiting to hear the mechanism by which
bacteria
> develop resistance to antibiotics, and how that differs
> from developing resistance to copper and sodium salts :-)
>
Actually there is a difference, somewhat like adjusting to poison by
ingesting small amounts over time and trying to adjust to a total absence of
air all at once. Antibiotics kill bacteria in a completely different way than
say squashing kills a bug. Bacteria are much easier to kill by disrupting
their cell walls with salt and it's much harder for bacteria to adjust to the
sudden salt influx. Antibiotics are more subtle and don't always kill all
bacteria they come in contact with. This gives the bacteria a chance to breed
resistant strains.
Moon
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