eli5 Why can’t we just crush bacteria to kill it?
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Killing bacteria with a hammer would be the equivalent of putting out a fire with a water hose. You can’t put water out where the fire is; you have to extinguish the fire to save the building.
In order to fight infection, you need to kill bacteria before it grows into something worse.
I’ve talked about why some antibiotics are failing. But if bacteria keep adapting, why are so many antibiotics still working? Antibiotics that are no longer effective have not yet become resistant to those that remain effective. How is this possible?
Most antibiotics kill bacteria by binding to a receptor on the surface of the cell membrane. Once bound, they prevent the cell from making energy and divide, just as a key will prevent the ignition of a key in a car’s ignition.
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