News Main
Animals
Archaeology
Dinosaurs
Earth
History
Human Animal
Space
Tech

The Dirt on Curing Clays

Larry O'Hanlon, Discovery News

Either way, clays would likely be a lot harder for bacteria to evolve defenses against, as is happening with the accidental breeding of "super bugs" by the overuse of antibiotics and antibacterial products.

Unlike antibiotics, clay minerals almost certainly kill bacteria by a physical, not biochemical, process, explained mineralogist Ross Giese of the State University of New York in Buffalo, who is not directly involved in Williams' project.

Once the mechanism behind the killer clays is figured out, the research could lead to cheaper treatments for Buruli ulcer and other diseases. The World Health Organization (WHO), recently labeled Buruli ulcer an emerging public health threat. The disfiguring disease is increasingly common among children in central and western Africa.

If one of the Buruli's rural victims is fortunate enough to get medical help, the infected tissue is generally cut out, which sometimes means amputation. There is no other WHO-approved treatment.

On the other hand, clay therapy is reported to have cured more than 50 cases of Buruli ulcer to date, the team reports.

"It not only stops the infection, but allows the body to regenerate tissues," said Giese.

"The Holy Grail in all this is if you could figure this out, it opens up a whole new world of fighting pathogenic bacteria," said Giese.

Clays have long been used for stomachaches, paper processing, sealing wells and other applications. But the long history of bogus clay cures and the fact that clay has such lowly origins has made clay research proposals a hard sell to funding agencies, Giese said.

"The previous uses have been low-tech," said Giese. Clay particles are truly nature's own nanotechnology, he asserts. "I think that if clay was not synonymous with mud and dirt, we would be much further along."

Related Links: