Life in Zero Magnetic Field. V.E. coliResistance to Antibiotics

Twenty‐six E. coli strains, isolated from human subjects, were tested for antibiotic drug resistance using the dilution of antibiotic solutions in agar culture medium. The bacterial strains were then exposed to zero magnetic field in a well‐controlled laboratory area, where a Helmholtz coil compensated the local geomagnetic field. The exposure time to the zero magnetic field was 6 days. The antibiotic drugs with antimicrobial large action spectra used to evaluate bacteria resistance were ampicillin, ceftazidime, tetracycline, ofloxacin, and kanamycin. The aqueous solutions of drug had dilutions of 0.25, 0.50, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, and 128 µm/mL, respectively. Two types of microorganisms were detected: strains sensitive and strains nonsensitive to geomagnetic field compensation. We found that the magnetic‐sensitive strains represent about one‐third of the analyzed samples, statistical analysis emphasizing the general tendency of diminishing resistance against antibiotics.