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Freethought & Rationalism ArchiveThe archives are read only. |
05-07-2003, 06:11 AM
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#1 |
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spores (Anthrax)
The media often mentions Anthrax spores. Is Anthrax a prion disease or is it a virus that uses self replicating protiens to attack targets? If it is a prion disease how does it produce spores? I often here creationists talk of bacterial spores are bacteria capable of producing spores or are they limited to cell division?
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05-07-2003, 06:29 AM
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#2 |
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Anthrax is a bacterium not a prion protein or virus. A bacterial spore is simply a highly resistant dormant state which some bacteria can adopt to allow them to survive adverse conditions, extremes of temperature being one example. These spores are very hardy and can survive for possibly as long as millions of years.
Vreeland RH, Rosenzweig WD, Powers DW. Isolation of a 250 million-year-old halotolerant bacterium from a primary salt crystal. Nature. 2000 Oct 19;407(6806):897-900. |
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05-08-2003, 03:34 AM
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#3 |
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Thank you for the info.
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