Tell me more ×
Skeptics Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for scientific skepticism. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 1 down vote favorite

E. Coli is getting lots of attention these days, so I was wondering: what's the likelihood that a specific branch of E. Coli through natural selection could get immunity to 8 different antibiotics?

Because there is a claim that this particular branch of E. Coli was man-made through an artificial selection. Is there any evidence behind this claim?

share|improve this question
Welcome to Skeptics, Fabio! Skeptics is for verifying the evidence behind the claims you encounter, as described in our FAQ. This would seem a better fit for the proposed Biology.SE site if it ever launches. – Borror0♦ Jun 7 '11 at 22:21
Well, let's put it another way then. The claim I encountered is that the brach of E. Coli that is being talked about is man-made through artificial selection. Hence the question. Can my question be modded up again, after this explanation, if I change it to better reflect the FAQ's requirements? – Fabio A. Jun 7 '11 at 23:31
I think this would be a legit question. But I am pretty sure there's no evidence that this particular branch of e. coli was artificially created, otherwise the evidence would be all over the news. Whats important is that I don't really get what you mean by 'artificially'. Guys with white coats in the labs creating immunity to 8 different antibiotics on purpose? Because bacteria can and do evolve immunity to antibiotics naturally. Why this case should be different? – user288 Jun 8 '11 at 7:01
In any case I changed the question and voted for reopen – user288 Jun 8 '11 at 7:04
@Sejanus Some news outlets do talk up fears of a bioweapon attack, some talk it down, it's not all over the news yet, apparently journalists still have some sense. – Ruben Jun 8 '11 at 8:06
show 1 more comment

closed as off topic by MrHen, Borror0♦ Jun 7 '11 at 22:19

Questions on Skeptics Stack Exchange are expected to relate to scientific skepticism within the scope defined in the FAQ. Consider editing the question or leaving comments for improvement if you believe the question can be reworded to fit within the scope. Read more about closed questions here.

Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.