Why can bacteria adapt to antibiotics, but not adapt to environmental things like heat or acids/soaps (Salmonella as an example)?

Question

Edit: I’ve had a lot of fun reading all of your analogies

In: 64

Answer 1

Antibiotics are organic chemistry — i.e. the same stuff life is made of. A bacterium interacting with an antibiotic is like two chess pieces interacting.

Heat, strong acids etc aren’t organic chemistry, they’re physics/physical chemistry. It’s more like a chess piece vs a car.