A group of Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) researchers are using Twitter to gain insight into how different kinds of bacterial strains communicate with each other using chemical signals, according to Scientific American. By examining the way that information travels through the networks of Twitter users, they claim they can better understand how bacterial strains protect themselves against antibiotics.
Scientists have long tried to find a way to disrupt the signals of pathogens, which communicate using a process called quorum sensing. In order to discover a method to accomplish this, they must understand the behavior of the pathogens. Current potential candidates for blocking this communication include antibiotics, quorum-sensing inhibitors and probiotics.
Radu Marculescu, the CMU engineering professor who is leading the effort, believes that bacteria have essentially created their own "social network," which allows it to coordinate behavior and build biofilm that helps resist treatment. Understanding this communication network is essential in properly fighting them, he said.
Increased bacterial resistance leads to increased mortality rates and prolonged illnesses, according to Science Daily, further highlighting the importance of understanding how bacteria communicate and develop.
A 2014 report by the World Health Organization (WHO) revealed that antibiotic resistance in bacteria is a serious problem that is happening in every region of the world. The report warns that without action, current diseases and injuries that are not life-threatening could become so.
