By Rachel Ehrenberg
October 9th, 2010; Vol.178 #8 (p.14)
Science News
Summary
There has been a new search by Simon Lee and Naveed Khan who are microbiologists reported at the Society for General Microbiology meeting at the University of Nottingham in England on September 7th; that the brains of cockroaches and locusts can prevent humans from infectious diseases. It finds that the brains contain antimicrobial compounds that kills harmful E.coli and MRSA. Simon Lee discovered that the extracts of ground-up brain and nerve tissue from Periplaneta americana (American cockroach) , and Schistocerca gregaria (desert locust) killed more than 90 percent of bacteria that causes meningitis and also killed methicillin-resistant staph. Cockroaches and locusts are insects that live in unsanitary areas and it led the scientists to think how they managed such environment that is filled with bacteria and other harmful organisms like parasites.
How were they interested in this research? They were fascinated of insect microbials when they noticed soldiers from Middle East with unusual infectious diseases however the locusts that were in the same area were not affected by it. This made the scientists curious of how the insects were able to be unaffected.
E. Coli
What did they do to prove this? Kahn and Lee and their colleagues grounded up various body parts of both cockroaches and locuts and kept them incubated with different bacteria for two hours. After having the petri dishes left overnight, they were able to find that the extracts of the body parts killed nearly 100 percent of the bacteria successfully.
The team is still working on further studies of the insects' body compounds to see if other parts are beneficial to us humans. They predict that it might be used as medication later in the future.
Opinion
As unsanitary as it may sound, I think this would be one of advances that scientists will find as humans become more educated and if more technologies become available. It is a great idea because it can fight off infectious diseases such as menigitis and skin irritation from MRSA. I am not sure if I would want to consume a bug that I despise the most for my health. However, if this is the only option I have to vaccinate myself from possible bacteria entering my body, then I guess I would make the choice to take it. I don't know if people would be willing to try because cockroaches and locusts are from unsanitary areas. Also I think the scientists were very eager and thoughtful to even think about studying such small animals and to go through their body parts to see if they would be any help to us humans.
Questions
1. If you had the bacteria like E.coli in your body, would you be willing to try this cockroach brain "medication"? Why or why not? Explain.
2. Referring back to what we learned in class, do you think the ability of cockroaches to fight off certain bacteria helped them to live longer than most organisms? Explain.
3. There are a lot of medical discoveries that weren't discovered until our time, what kinds of new discoveries in medicine can you predict that people will find?
By Jenny Kim
I would have never thought that something that can be so dirty, like the cockroach, can be so healthy. It is like a super vitamin. Eating it though, is better said than done. I know that if I was had to eat a cockroach, I would have to be knocked unconscious to eat it. I don’t think I could bear it, even though it is proven that a cockroach brain is good for my health.
ReplyDelete1. If I had E.coli, I think I would wait as long as I could before I tried the cockroach brain. I would see if my immune system could fight back, but if after a week and I’m not better, I will attempt to eat the cockroach. For me to eat it, it would have to be mashed up, hidden in food, and have someone not tell me I was eating it until three hours later. I would basically have to be tricked into eating it. I am just too afraid of the little cockroach to actually eat it. Unless my health is in jeopardy, I don’t think I will be eating the cockroach brain any time soon.
I think it is amazing that scientists have found this discovery. I would have never thought that a cockroach could help fight bacteria. Even though cockroaches are pretty gross, its pretty cool how they can help fight bacteria. I hope scientists can figure out a way to get the cockroach's brain into a medicine so people can use it to help fight off bacteria.
ReplyDelete1. If I had bacteria in my body, I don't know if I would want to use the cockroach brain medicine. I think I would wait and see if any one else took the medicine and see if it worked on them. I would also wait to see how sick I got. If I got too sick and had bad health, I would then take the cockroach brain medicine.
Yuck! When ever I hear about cockroach, it's always about how slimy it is and how gross it is. I never thought how beneficial it will be to your health if you have E. Coli. I would never have guessed in my wildest dreams that cockroach would be eaten by humans if it is beneficial. Most people will not want to eat it.
ReplyDeleteIf I had E. Coli, I would eat the brain of the cockroach right after I get it. I would do everything to make it more beneficial so I could live. Who wants to die from E. Coli? I would rather eat the brains than die in pain. You could have lived if you just ate it.
This is obviously very wierd and unfamiliar. I only really think about cockroaches in negative ways, but this has opened my eyes a bit. The fact that they can be used as medicine is surprising and a bit startling.
ReplyDeleteIf I had E. Coli, I would probably try a lot of things before I would eat a cockroach brain. If it's my only option though, I would be glad to.