Bacteria May Not Hasten Death

**Flies** scrubbed clean of **bacteria** did not outlive their grubby siblings, the researchers report in the August 8 issue of Cell Metabolism. The finding challenges the conventional wisdom that even harmless bacteria -- and the immune response they provoke -- suck up the energy of the host organism and hasten its death. "It seemed like it was dogma that if the organism has to spend energy doing something, it should shorten the animal's life," said co-author and USC biologist Steven Finkel... Whole article on "ScienceDaily":[ http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070807140051.htm]

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