In the shortest story ever told, Cassandra and Svetsky are saved!
A recent conjugation (sex) with some neighbors had given them a plasmid* on which a gene existed to breakdown this antibiotic.
Within 4 minutes, the enzyme was all over their system and they could now live happily in the new antibiotic which had taken the humans 20 years to discover!
Long live the microbes!
Plasmid* - a round piece of DNA that can easily be copied and transfered from one bacterial cell to another. Usually these plasmids contain useful genes that microbes like to share. For example, a gene which allows the cell to make an enzyme which can breakdown a toxin or antibiotic. Can you imagine if humans could adapt and evolve that fast?
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