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ActivisionBlizzard t1_is0y4ms wrote

Reply to comment by Majestic_Electric in Antibiotic found in potato disease thwarts fungal infections by Sariel007

Had to do a bit of digging to answer this. Scientifically, the general understanding is that antibiotics refers to anti-bacterial molecules. Although search the phrase “antibiotic antifungal” and you’ll see that isn’t even fully agreed in the scientific community.

However the lay definition - Oxford English Dictionary definition, and not by chance (I’m guessing) the first result when googling - is that antibiotic is acting against any microorganism.

This is how that article has ended up using the wrong sounding phrase “antibiotic antifungal”. Which suggests that “antibiotic antibacterial” is what they would use for true antibiotics.

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daman4567 t1_is167qy wrote

Viruses are the more unique factor here, not being cells and whatnot. Fungus and bacteria are more alike than viruses and literally anything else.

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forever_erratic t1_is1m15q wrote

Well, ok, but your comment implies fungi and bacteria are alike. They are not.

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Houseton t1_is1ogp2 wrote

They are both living, viruses are not. So they are more alike with each other than with viruses.

Edit:a word

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ColdJello t1_is2t60e wrote

Fungi cells are more closely related to our human cells than they are bacteria.. there's so many differences between fungi and bacteria that you can't really say they are closely related.

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Successful-Quote8204 t1_is2tvd2 wrote

Which no one was saying. Relative to viruses they’re more alike than not. The difference between a virus and a living cell is like between a jelly fish and a rock.

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Icantblametheshame t1_is30jft wrote

Omg! That's exactly what I said! Bacteria and fungus are like the difference between a jelly fish and a whale, not similar at all, yet somehow kind of are, and are wayyy different than them and a rock!

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forever_erratic t1_is1oso2 wrote

Right. And yet, bacteria and fungi are still extremely different from one another.

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Houseton t1_is1qkyq wrote

You are 100% right on that. Both are living organisms though so they are more alike there than viruses, which aren't living per se.

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RobotArtichoke t1_is20tfu wrote

They both compete for the same resources though

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_Wyrm_ t1_is3x5nv wrote

Viruses do not compete for resources. They take over cells and force them to make more.

There is no biological process that happens with respect to virii, save when they are created and when they latch onto a cell and inject their gunk in.

Bacteria and fungi, on the other hand, need energy to survive. They must feed off of their host.

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cbftw t1_is1ybwg wrote

They're still more alike than virii and anything else in the world

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Icantblametheshame t1_is303ov wrote

Yet they are similar. Like a whale and a jelly fish aren't anything alike but yet they are pretty similar and way different than a rock

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youwantitwhen t1_is1ot1t wrote

Wrong. Viruses are alive. Correct. Viruses are not alive.

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Houseton t1_is1qa5z wrote

My statement implied viruses are not living. I didn't use the term alive..... Not sure what your comment is meant to be though

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Unlimitles t1_is79n8z wrote

it's meant to be sarcasm because that person can recognize that this stupid string of comments are just propagandists making perfectly sure to drive home the confusion so people reading don't actually understand anything.

lol I'll be using this as case study to help people understand what Online Propaganda looks and behaves like, reddit is the perfect place to understand it, even helps in seeing it on other platforms because it operates the same.

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Houseton t1_is7eqf5 wrote

wat?!? I guess, congrats for your case study ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

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[deleted] t1_is1lv0m wrote

[deleted]

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DaughterEarth t1_is23n02 wrote

They OC comment did by implication when they mentioned antibiotics only work on bacteria. The reason that often needs to be said is people think they will treat viruses, which they won't.

But there is a such thing as an anti-fungal antibiotic.

The person you replied to is trying to clear it up but apparently lots of you are too offended to pay attention lol

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK538168/

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Icantblametheshame t1_is30pkh wrote

Yes cause an anti biotic could be referring to anything that kills life with a specific method

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Clemementine t1_is2thjl wrote

Generally those are referred to as antivirals, though.

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Icantblametheshame t1_is30twv wrote

And viruses are not living organisms, so anti biotic (Killin living organisms) doesn't apply to them

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HensAndChicks t1_is17iy5 wrote

Hah potatoe joke there. >_> you kno cause you gotta dig them outa the ground lol

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Stryker1050 t1_is3kt62 wrote

> is that antibiotic is acting against any microorganism.

So antivirals are also antibiotics?

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ActivisionBlizzard t1_is4ny7v wrote

No viruses aren’t organisms, micro or otherwise. They are non-living pieces of code. Calling a virus alive is like calling a computer virus a computer.

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Fearless-Past9652 t1_is1h129 wrote

No digging needed. It's in the three paragraph article

I'm a doctor and could work it out. It's not hard.

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ActivisionBlizzard t1_is1mi2z wrote

Thanks for the super helpful and insightful comment! The digging was required to understand why there are two definitions of antibiotic (when previously I only knew one) and that was certainly not in the article.

Congrats on being a doctor though.

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Majestic_Electric t1_is1r122 wrote

Well, not everyone IS a doctor. No need for the smart alec-like attitude. 😛

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Fearless-Past9652 t1_is1xjju wrote

I'm pushing back against people thinking they outwitted a title lol That's what a smart alec attitude looks like

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