Ponderable One: Soap Opera
In the article the FDA is revisiting the safety of an antibacterial agent called Ticlosan, because they recently discovered it is interfering with the hormone levels in lab animals and that it could be a causative agent of the growth of drug resistant bacteria. If new regulations are put into action manufacturing companies companies will have to prove the effectiveness of antibacterial soaps over water and soap. If you were to wash your hand without antimicrobial soap, a number of reactions would take place. Bacteria and other microorganisms would be able to get past some of your bodies first defenses without any effort to them. There are many components to antimicrobial soap that are active against microorganisms; one common component is called Triclosan ("What Makes Antibacterial Soap Antibacterial?” 2014). The bacteria would release a bacterial enzyme that would bind to a substrate released by your body and start a chemical reaction infecting the cells with the bacteria it holds. However, antimicrobial soap has many different components that act as a blocker to these enzymes. Triclosan specifically blocks the bacteria from binding to the active site on the enzyme ("What Makes Antibacterial Soap Antibacterial?” 2014). When Triclosan is activated it prevents the growth of the fatty acid chain which build and strength the cell’s membrane. Without a plasma membrane the cell cannot thrive and will be killed or destroyed by other cells. The U.S.