Microorganisms have no morale

2016/09/19 Galarraga Aiestaran, Ana - Elhuyar Zientzia

• Mikrobiologia
• Giza zientziak

Microorganisms are love, they are not distinguished between good and bad. This statement can be striking for many, as lately it is quite widespread that bacteria are beneficial, especially those living in the intestine. In fact, many yoghurt manufacturers rely on it, for example, to claim that their products are beneficial.

But it has not always been so. Formerly, bacteria were fearsome enemies that had to disappear at all costs. They were the cause of illness and the death of millions of people. Legenarra, gonorrhea, black plague, tetanus, typhus… were synonymous with bacteria.

The same is true of viruses. All viruses are considered malignant, there is no honest virus or, if any, we do not know it.

However, scientific journalist Ed Yong has warned in his latest book that this view is wrong. Yong has written about the microorganisms that live in us and has stated that the issue is not so simple. Microorganisms are not properly malignant or honest, it is a matter of relationship. The key is in the relationships they maintain between them and with the environment, depending on which good or damage occurs. And in addition, there are many factors that influence this relationship.

As a sign of this, Yong has set the bacterium Helicobacter pylori as an example. This bacterium lives alone in the human species and is very well adapted to the stomach area. In 1982, two researchers, Marshall and Warren demonstrated that he was the main promoter of stomach and duodenum ulcers, and for this discovery they were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2005.

It has been found that this same bacteria protects it from esophageal cancer. Therefore, it cannot be said if H. pylori is sincere or bad, depending on where you are and the relationships you have in it, it will be harmful or beneficial.

Another example: GBV-C virus. Initially it was associated with hepatitis C. However, they then saw that it did not damage the liver. Moreover, it infects the lymphocytes of our immune system, which makes the AIDS virus unable to infect the lymphocyte so easily, the first step in the development of AIDS. Has the alleged criminal become the most honored of all?

In his book, Yong speaks not only of microorganisms but also of parasites and other larger living beings. And in all it shows that it makes no sense to be divided between the good and the bad.

It seems that once again it has been shown that the anthropocentric approach leads us to misunderstand reality.

Published in the newspaper Berria.