Submitted by [deleted] t3_103c1nz in askscience
FogeltheVogel t1_j31j52t wrote
Reply to comment by abalawadhi in How does dish soap eliminate bacteria? by [deleted]
Not easily like with Antibiotics. Antibiotics are like scalpels, they target 1 very specific part of the bacteria and disrupt that part. By changing that part slightly, the antibiotic stops having an effect (or alternatively, they set up systems to pump the molecules of antibiotics out of the bacteria before they can do harm).
Meanwhile, soap is almost like a fire. It simply rips the entire membrane apart. In order to prevent this, they'd need to fundamentally change how the membrane is constructed. Fundamental changes like that are, while not impossible, basically unheard off in evolution.
Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments