Friday, May 29, 2015

Part 3: Chapter 20-29 Question 10

How does bleach kill microbes?

3 comments:

  1. Bleach is the secret to killing microbes, however, scientists are now discovering the reason as to why bleach kills microbes. According to an investigation that was performed by Ursula Jakob from the University of Michigan, Jakob was doing experiments on a heat shock protein 33 (Hsp33). This protein swells up when it is in a certain temperature range, like an egg when it's boiled, and eventually the protein is destroy. When working with chlorine, Jakob found that a chemical in the bleach, specifically hypochlorite, has the same characteristics as the Hsp33 protein, meaning the chemical initiates cells to swell up and then die. A researcher in the experiment stated that many of the proteins that hypochlorite attacks are inactivating those proteins likely kills the bacteria. Even though bleach kills microbes, bleach isn't beneficial because it is hazardous to the environment when it's washed down the drain, and because when it's used in a non ventilated room, the chemicals in the bleach travel through you body and affect it. Moreover, an individual's immune system contain the chemical, hypochlorite, and it is secreted when a microbe enters the individual's body. It has been noticed that when a microbe enters the body the infected cells become inflamed and damaged because of the hypochlorite from the immune system.

    Thompson, A. (n.d.). How Bleach Kills Bacteria. Retrieved June 5, 2015, from http://m.livescience.com/3069-bleach-kills-bacteria.html

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  2. Karen is correct when she explains that the reason why bleach kills microbes is because of its specific chemical, hypochlorite. Because of the protein's contained in the hypochlorite, bleach will certainly kill the germs on your kitchen counter or in your tub but it is also hazardous to the environment after it's washed down the drain, as well as to your health if the room you're working in isn't properly ventilated. The bleach causes many affects but the main one, as explained by Karen and experimented by Jakob, is that it swells up the cells and eventually leads them to die.

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