𝐡𝐞𝐲 so as promised, here is the Science Talent Search 2024 entry (also I don’t know what this got for ranking because I left the school afterwards (╥﹏╥) )
Rise of the Invincibles
(A Chronicle of a Resilient Species)
Once, we were deadly. Once we were feared and mysterious.
Humans are so stubborn. They used to be so timid, so stupid! We took down thousands of people every day. We, multidrug-resistant Tuberculosis, were highly contagious, efficient, genius assassins. We were no ordinary bacteria. We were survivors, masters of adaptation, and what people call “superbugs”.
As a member of the Tuberculosis group, I regularly embark on a journey, traversing through the symphony of human coughs and sneezes, riding the waves of the air they exhale, out of one victim’s body and into another. I greedily created thousands of identical copies of myself, leaving my unique mark on this new host. Another one down. Hah!
But, most importantly, I cannot be stopped! Invincible! Indestructible! Our species was one of the best at adapting. As members of our Superbug family, we experiment on the humans, until we are truly undefeatable. Every time humans attempt to destroy us, we always find a way to resist the force of the medicine. Of course, humans’ ignorance also played a part. They often devoured the incorrect, incomplete treatment, or overdosed. Isoniazid, Rifampicin, Fluoroquinolones, we have triumphed over them all!
Our one and only philosophy in life is reproduction. My fellow Tuberculosis across the world recognised the rapid growth in technology and medicinal research discovery as a huge issue. Therefore, we believe that through evolution and continued reproduction, we will be able to create a bacteria with unique genes that shields us from our enemies. Our cell walls could be penetrated by Ethambutol, forcing me to burst. Our ribosomes could be destroyed by Streptomycin, inhibiting me to produce of any necessary protein. Our metabolic pathways can be destroyed by Pyrazinamide, taking away my energy to perform daily functions. But, one day, there will be a saviour for the species and a shield against human antibacterial – one young tuberculosis with genes to defend us all. It would then pass its superior genes to the next generation. Long live the Tuberculosis!
Now, as an ancestor of Tuberculosis children, I can only tell the story of when I was a young bacterium.
At first, when we were created around nine thousand years ago, we were found in a town off the coast of Israel. Then, we started to spread like wildfire across Asia and Europe. Nobody knew who we were. Nobody knew how to cure themselves and escape from our wrath.
In fact, during the Middle Ages, people thought that to break free from our fatal grasp, they needed the ‘royal touch’. People lined up to get cured and receive their sovereign’s touch in their countries.
In England during the early 1800s, people thought that once you got infected and died because of us, you would come back as a vampire to infect your other family members. Fortunately, the only treatment humans could think of for TB was nonsense things like warmth, vinegar massages, and inhaling herbs.
It wasn’t until the 1940s that the first cure was found. For centuries, we have defied the fierce slaughter and battles of drugs, weaving its tendrils into the very fabric of existence.
Isoniazid, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol were all the pride of humans, but to us, meant death. There was nothing else to do apart from reproduce. The more we multiply, the higher the chances are to create bacteria with resilient genes. The more likely our species as a whole would survive.
Some lucky TB managed to multiply and create immune children, but the chances were low for most of us. Through genetic mutations, they developed more robust biofilms, new enzymes, and passed these genes to their neighbours through horizontal gene transfers.
The remainder of us huddled in the shadowed caverns of the human lungs, awaiting death. The air was thick with whispers and the walls trembled with every breath. Observing the triumph of those successfully survived variants filled us with pride, and we shall depart this life without regret, having fulfilled our lifelong mission.
I don’t even know how we survived this long. It’s like we’re chained on a seesaw, going back and forth.
Even so, one can only hold off the battle for so long.
“Comrades, fellow TB, get ready to fight! Antibiotics incoming!”
Groans echoed through the chamber of the tired tuberculosis as they struggled to get ready.
The battle began. Antibiotics stormed in, their chemical weapons looming over the terrified bacteria. One by one, I watched in horror as some of my lifelong companions immediately fell, their cell walls disintegrating. The ones left fought on, half alive, its enzymes countering the assault, but we were already as vulnerable as can be.
Sensing an unlucky start, our team slowly retreated, and desperately clung to the walls of the lung, in a final attempt for refuge. Hope glimmered. Perhaps there is a chance of survival?
The new antibiotics were merciless. They advanced, cackling.
Tuberculosis could only tremble and churn in fear, molecules linked, ready to block the attacks in a feeble attempt of self-defence. They could only watch and pray as the medicines closed in and towered above them.
And they strike.
Time seemed to stop at that moment.
Surely this cannot be the end.
But it is.
After all this time, after everything we’ve adapted to, it can’t all go to waste!
But it has.
Tormented screams erupted beside us as the drugs infiltrated our shelter. Disintegration. Dread. Watching in mute terror as our own DNA unravelled from our own microscopic bodies.
My last thought? Although these superbugs’ twisted legacy faded into oblivion, my mission has already succeeded. Even though my time was up in the beautiful, cruel world, my children will endlessly continue our duty and make their mark in this world. Perhaps one day, a new strain would rise - a glorious phoenix from the ashes of defeat. But not anytime soon.
And then, silence.
There was nothing louder than that.
WORD COUNT: 993
APPENDIX
Scientific Terms
Tuberculosis (TB): an infectious disease caused by a type of bacteria called ‘Mycobacterium tuberculosis’. It primarily affects the lungs and spreads through the air by interactions with the infected (eg: cough, spit, sneezes)
Superbugs: also known as ‘antimicrobial resistance’, it is when bacteria becomes resistant to multiple antibiotics through misuse or overdose, making it more complex to cure.
Bacteria: microscopic organisms made of one biological cell. Some cause diseases, some are harmless and some are helpful and vital for the environment. Humans contain trillions of bacteria.
Antibiotics: medications used to either kill bacteria or slow down their reproduction.
Isoniazid: a type of antibiotic used to stop TB from returning.
Rifampicin: another type of treatment for Tuberculosis
Fluoroquinolones: a group of medicines that are designed to fight bacterial infections.
Pyrazinamide: is an antibiotic that kills bacteria that causes Tuberculosis.
Ethambutol: is an antibiotic against TB that stops the growth of bacteria.
Streptomycin: medicine used to treat bacterial infections.
Lung: a pair of organs that provide our tissues with oxygen
Throat: a tube located in the middle of the neck that helps with breathing and digestion.
Reproduction: biological process through which living organisms create offspring, ensuring the continuity of their species.
DNA: a molecule that carries genetic information.
Molecules: invisible structures made up of particles called atoms. Each type of molecule has its own unique properties and is in everything.
Enzymes: proteins that speed up specific chemical reactions within living organisms.
Cell: Each cell is enclosed by a membrane and contains essential molecules. All living things are composed of cells.
Species: a category of living things that ranks below a group
Horizontal gene transfers: exchange of genes between individuals without passing them directly from parents to offspring.
Biofilms: when a thick layer of organisms that lack a nucleus and other organelles cluster to form a colony.
Ribosomes: the cellular machinery responsible for making proteins
Bibliography
Frontiers in Pharmacology - Antibiotic Action and Resistance
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pharmacology/articles/10.3389/fphar.2023.1305294/full
News In Health (NIH) - Stop the Spread of Superbugs
https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2014/02/stop-spread-superbugs#:~:text=Superbugs%20are%20strains%20of%20bacteria,Control%20and%20Prevention%20(CDC).
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) - Tuberculosis: Causes and How It Spreads
https://www.cdc.gov/tb/causes/index.html#:~:text=Tuberculosis%20(TB)%20germs%20spread%20through,spread%20TB%20germs%20to%20others
World Health Education - Tuberculosis
https://www.who.int/health-topics/tuberculosis#tab=tab_1
National Library of Medicine (NIH) - Antibiotic Resistance Crisis
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4378521/
Ausmed - Superbugs: What Are They and How Can They Be Stopped?
https://www.ausmed.com.au/learn/articles/superbugs
TB Online - How TB infects the body: The Tubercule
https://www.tbonline.info/posts/2016/3/31/how-tb-infects-body-tubercle-1/