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Published online 21 January 2009 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2009.47
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Cheating bacteria could treat infections
Freeloaders could help their hosts by undermining microbe cooperation.
Infections could be treated by adding more bacteria, say researchers who have shown that cooperation between microbes is undermined outside the bounds of the Petri dish by a few 'cheats'.
Similar to colonies of social creatures such as ants, bacteria can rely on a simple solution to the difficulties of surviving in harsh environments — cooperation.
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That the presence of 'cheaters' helps rest of the bacteria and the 'cheaters' to survive without getting killed along with the host means cheaters are really not cheaters but they are evolved to help the whole colony survive in the host! In that case, instead of calling them cheaters , they should be treated as helpers! Further, the suggestion that addition of antibiotic sensitve 'cheaters', does not make sense since their demise shoud cause more mortality of the host/patient! May be I got it all wrong. MC Arunan