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Name: Josh
Status: Student
Grade:  9-12
Location: MN
Country: United States
Date: October 2006
Question:
Is there any reason to think that caffeine and nicotine will influence bacterial growth?


Replies:
Nicotine is a poison and will affect the bacteria.

Pf


I doubt that either will increase cell growth, but at high concentrations just about any chemical will inhibit cell growth. But the only way to know for sure is to do the experiment!

Ron Baker, Ph.D.


Dear Josh,

Caffeine and nicotine will probably not influence bacterial growth in the same way that it alters human behavior. The answer lies in the differences between a single- and multi-cellular organism and how behavior is regulated in both organisms.

--Jim Tokuhisa


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