LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA — A new study has found that bacteria sacrifice themselves to antibiotics in order to preserve their colony.<br /><br />Researchers at California State University and Princeton exposed a colony of E.Coli to a molecule known as LL37, according to the journal E Life.<br /><br />The molecule was slightly modified to give off a green glow that would allow researchers to track its movement.<br /><br />LL37 is a natural antibiotic produced by the skin and some organs in the body to help eliminate foreign bacteria, according to the study.<br /><br />The scientists found that only a tiny amount of E.Coli bacteria were needed to absorb large amounts of LL37. E.Coli cells that consumed the molecule were reportedly killed. <br /><br />However, this allowed the rest of the bacteria colony to keep on growing and spreading.<br /><br />Sattar Taheri-Araghi, a co-senior author of the study said that their findings "have profound implications for the evolution of bacteria."
