Bacteria that don't say no to cocaine.Cocaine-loving bacteria might provide the next weapon in the war against trafficking in this dangerous drug. Several species of bacteria have evolved cocaine-specific enzymes that degrade TO DEGRADE, DEGRADING. To, sink or lower a person in the estimation of the public. 2. As a man's character is of great importance to him, and it is his interest to retain the good opinion of all mankind, when he is a witness, he cannot be compelled to disclose the narcotic narcotic, any of a number of substances that have a depressant effect on the nervous system. The chief narcotic drugs are opium, its constituents morphine and codeine, and the morphine derivative heroin. See also drug addiction and drug abuse. into chemical components from which they can easily derive carbon molecules, notes Matthew M. Bresler of the University of Cambridge in England. He and his colleagues, for example, have identified such bacteria in the soil surrounding coca plants Noun 1. coca plant - a South American shrub whose leaves are chewed by natives of the Andes; a source of cocaine coca, Erythroxylon coca Erythroxylon, Erythroxylum, genus Erythroxylon, genus Erythroxylum - a large genus of South American shrubs and small . They have now isolated from the microbes an enzyme that splits cocaine into benzoic acid benzoic acid (bĕnzō`ĭk), C6H5CO2H, crystalline solid organic acid that melts at 122°C; and boils at 249°C;. It is the simplest aromatic carboxylic acid (see aryl group and carboxyl group). and ecgonine methyl ester. Their goal is to use this enzyme to create handheld sensors that detect particles of cocaine in the air, says Bresler. Benzoic acid is a relatively common compound, so the researchers plan to look for a simple method to sense ecgonine methyl ester. |
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