Clay: A new way to fight germs?

Nadia Tokovic

Science

Mr. Youell

2 Se[ptember 2014

Clay: A new way to fight germs?

article :  https://student.societyforscience.org/article/clay-new-way-fight-germs

second source: http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/minerals-clay-could-be-used-combat-antibiotic-resistance 

Crater Lake, Oregon (fig. 1)

          Today, more and more bacteria have become resistant to modern antibiotics. This is because the genes of the bacteria have changed over generations and have become immune to medicine that was design to kill them. According to IFL Science, “in the United States alone, over 2 million people become infected with bacteria that are resistant to multiple drugs, known as “superbugs.” Scientist Lynda Williams, however, has discovered a new cure for bacterial sickness; volcanic clay.

Williams explored the Crater Lake region in Oregon (see fig. 1) in order to find clay which was made with the volcanic ash. It is important for the clay to be volcanic because water which moves through volcanic ash can change the chemistry of clay and give it the traits that are needed for healing. Together with her team she took samples of three different kinds of clay: blue, white, and red. (see fig. 2) The scientists then mixed the clay with sterile water and added either of two different types of bacteria: Escherichia coli which causes vomiting, diarrhea, stomach cramps, in some cases even kidney failure and death and Staphylococcus epidermidis which causes skin infection to each sample of clay. They placed each mix into an oven which was warmed to body temperature and left them overnight to give bacteria time to react to the clay. Next morning in order to determine whether the bacteria were still alive they added nutrients to the mixture, which the bacteria would eat and grow because of it. The researchers found that the red clay had no effect, the blue clay killed all of the bacteria, and the white clay killed about 30-50% of the bacteria. 

"blue clay, coated with red clay and sulfur crystals encased in white clay." - IFL science (figure 2.)

      All three different clays have a high level of iron, which bacteria need in order to survive but if the bacteria absorbs too much iron is a short amount of time it will die. The red volcanic clay was near the earth's surface and being in contact with oxygen, it oxidized. The white clay was under the red clay and only partly oxidized. The blue clay was under the white clay, so not in contact with oxygen at all. Oxidized iron inside the clay behaved differently in the water mix and prevented the bacteria from consuming the iron too quickly, however the iron in the blue clay which was not oxidized can be easily retrieved by bacteria. Bacteria are very unlikely to become resistant to the blue clay because it simply releases too much iron in short amounts of time in which bacteria cannot evolve new genes to make itself immune.

          Even though this exploration has showed that clay can play an effective role in fighting bacteria, it is still a long way until clay can be used in medicine.  Two challenges in using clay to fight disease are: finding clay with the exact chemical structure that is needed and knowing exactly how much clay a sick patient needs. 

          I think that this is a very important discovery but even scientists themselves are unsure whether this discovery will lead to a widespread use of clay instead of antibiotics. This discovery shows that many products, such as antibiotics, which are created artificially, have natural alternatives. Artificial products can lower metabolism, which is why many people who use artificial products become ill, therefore discoveries of natural alternatives can allow people to be healthier and have longer life expectancies.