In movie theaters the fourth part of the John Wick action series is currently running. That’s a movie star Keanu Reeves the protagonist is killing people and blowing things up again. In civilian life, Reeves is said to be a very easy-going man.
Reeves has now also left his mark on the animal kingdom. A poison produced by a bacterium is named after him. Scientists call it “keanomycin”. Or actually there are several compounds.
“They kill so effectively that we named them after Keanu Reeves, because he is also very lethal in his roles,” says Sebastian Götze, PhD researcher at the Leibniz Institute in the bulletin.
The release also specifies that Götze is winking when he says this.
Keanomycin really kills in the house and garden. It is Pseudomonas-a natural antibiotic produced by bacteria, which is particularly effective against amoebas and the gray mold that torments plants.
On the other hand, it is harmless to people and plants. Keanomycin could therefore replace chemical pesticides in cultivation, and it could also fight fungal diseases in humans. Many fungal diseases have already developed resistance to traditional antibiotics because they are used so much.
In the laboratory, keanomycin has already outperformed Candida albicans – yeast fungus. Back in the day, you could get basimycin ointment from the pharmacy. Maybe one day we’ll use keanomycin.
The famous ones thousands of species, from spawners to lichens, have been named after people, sometimes even more. Multipurpose muscle bundle Arnold Schwarzenegger no less than five are named: two beetles, a fly, a spider and a pea plant.
Naming a species is basically a tribute, but sometimes the end result is a bit open to interpretation. Former president Donald Trump got its name from a species of moth. The one in question Neopalpa donaldtrumpa has a fine and thick blond hair on his head, but on the other hand, according to the researchers’ description, he has a small penis.
#Animal #week #toxin #produced #bacterium #named #action #star #kills #effectively
