How does chlorine bleach kill bugs?
London, Nov 14 (IANS) Chlorine bleach is among the most widely used household disinfectants, yet scientists don’t know exactly how it kills bacteria. A team led by molecular biologist Ursula Jakob of Michigan University described a mechanism by which hypochlorite, the active ingredient of household bleach, attacks bacterial proteins, killing the bugs. “We did not (exactly) set out to address this question,” said Jakob, an associate professor. “But when we stumbled on the answer midway through a different project, we were all very excited.” Jakob and her team were studying a bacterial protein known as heat shock protein 33 (Hsp33), which is classified as a molecular chaperone, said a Michigan release. A chaperone’s job is to protect proteins from unfavourable interactions, a function that’s particularly important when cells are under stress, like high temperatures that result from fever. “At high temperatures, proteins begin to lose their three-dimensional molecular structure and start
