Artificial sweeteners to help in the fight against drug resistance

Daisy Scott, Online Deputy Editor, reports on the recent discovery that three artificial sweeteeners have been seen to de -

RECENT findings, published by the European Molecular Biology Organisation’s journal, Molecular Medicine, indicate that three artificial sweeteners rapidly decrease the growth rate of multi-drug resistant (MDR) pathogens. Not only do they disable bacteria which are the cause of serious infections, they reduce the level of the bacteria’s resistance to the most common antibiotics, meaning that less of them are needed. Since first discovered, antibiotics have revolutionised the treatment of bacterial infections and saved millions of lives. However, because of bacteria’s ability to survive and adapt, as soon as a new antibiotic is put into use, a resistant “superbug” appears. There has since been a significant increase in the number of “superbugs” due to overuse of antibiotics and people not finishing the prescription. Dr Ronan McCarthy from Brunel University’s Centre of Inflammation Research and Translational Medicine has said, “It has created a dangerous situation where a “postantibiotic era” is becoming a reality. It threatens all aspects of healthcare.” The research found that the sweeteners saccharin, cyclamate and acesulfame-K (Ace-K) curb the two “priority pathogens” which the World Health Organisation says need the most urgent new antibiotic treatment. They can completely stop the growth of both priority pathogens, Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aerugionosa. These two bacteria are particularly dangerous for people who have a compromised immune system. Focusing specifically on Ace-K, the team found that it stops pathogens forming protective biofilms, which usually help them stick and cause chronic infections. Now working on further preclinical testing, the team say that all three of the sweeteners could of -

Pathogens

fer potential new treatments for multi-drug resistant infections and could potentially be developed to replace antibiotics in some situations.

The team say that all three sweeteners could offer potential new treatments

Dr McCarthy has said “we have found a potential weapon that can be used in the war against superbugs”. This is a particularly exciting discovery since

IBS and gravity: What’s the connection?

antibiotics usually take billions of dollars invested over decades to develop.

Gracie Moore, Lifestyle Editor, discusses the theory that IBS may be linked to the body’s inability to cope with gravity

IRRITABLE Bowel Syndrome (IBS) affects around one in five people in the UK at some point in their lives. It can be debilitating and often is put down to eating too much starchy food, an oversenstive gut, or simply stress.

However, Brennan Spiegel, Director of Health Services Research at Cedars-Sinai has suggested that the stomach and intestines have not evolved to be well adapted to gravity in the way the heart, lungs, the nervous system and spine have. He goes on to explain that “our body systems are constantly pulled downwards and if these systems cannot manage the drag of gravity, then it can cause issues like pain, cramping, lightheadedness, sweating, rapid heartbeat and back issues”. Interestingly, these are all common symptoms of IBS.

The body is destined to carry heavy organs around in our abdomens from the day we’re born until the day we die, and if the support systems holding them against gravity should fail, this is where the compressed stomach and intestines begin to cause pain and poor digestion issues.

Serotonin, a neurotransmitter in our bodies that usually regulates body tem- perature, attention and moods, has also evolved well against gravity and without it, we wouldn’t be able to pump intestinal goods against gravity. Have you ever been extremely sad or stressed and this has manifested into a stomach ache or simply poor digestion? Now you may have the answer as to why. Low serotonin (and subsequently low moods) hinders the digestion process. Therefore, this can often be demonstrated in digestive issues such as IBS or through sleep problems like chronic fatigue. Partially, they are due to a gravity intolerance that differs from per- son to person. Dr Spiegel suggests that more research and experiments need to be carried out in order to prove this, but this is a step in the right direction for IBS sufferers in terms of treating the root causes.

Almudena Visser Velez sheds light on the cause for the green smudge that ’s recently been visible in the sky

SOME readers may have seen photos in news articles recently of what appears to be a green smudge on a dark background. Or perhaps even seen a bright object in the sky but what was it?

Comets are frozen objects composed of dust and ice that orbit the Sun, or a less flattering description would be an enormous, dirty snowball. Their orbits are usually elliptical and they may come from very far away, outside of our own solar system, melting and burning up if they come too close to the Sun.

Comets travel at thousands of kilometres per hour, with speeds exceeding 100,000km/h as they approach the Sun and get pulled in by its gravity. Comets with shorter orbital periods may orbit the Sun several times, while those with longer orbits may only ever come around a single time, so seeing one may truly be a once in a lifetime experience. They consist of a frozen core, called the nucleus, which can be around 10 km wide. As the comet approaches the Sun, it heats up and the ice sublimates to a gas, causing a fuzzy cloud to envelope the nucleus, called a coma. As the dusty gas streams off the nucleus, solar wind pushes the gas into a line behind the core, causing the famous bright trails that can run for millions of kilometres.

The comet that has hit the headlines recently is called C/2022 E3 ZTF, which swept through the sky in January and was closest to Earth on February 1st (coincidentally this author’s birthday).

The comet that hit headlines recently is C/2022 E3 ZTF

In long exposure telescopic photos, it came up as a bright green haze and could be seen through binoculars and potentially sharp eyes away from light pollution. As the comet is now receding from Earth, it will become harder to see and will soon disappear from view.

The bright green colour of the main body, not unique to this comet, is thought to be caused by sunlight interacting with diatomic carbon, an unstable gaseous form of carbon with paired atoms. The dicarbon molecules are broken down by extreme ultraviolet radiation from the Sun, releasing energy in the form of light and causing a green glow, after which they split into single carbon atoms which form the coma.

This comet comes near Earth every 50,000 years, so was last visible in the Stone Age, meaning you might have wit nessed the same spectacle as your very distant ancestors from a long bygone era, which is an extraordinary thought.

This comet comes near Earth every 50,000 years, so was last visible in the stone age

We will never have the privilege of seeing this specific comet again, but who knows what we’ll see next!