Antibiotic resistance happens when bacteria change in a way that prevents the antibiotic from working in its normal manner. There are several ways in which this can happen.
Everyone says the solution to antibiotic-resistant superbugs is to use antibiotics less often – but it’s not happening.
Penn State/Flickr
Panic has spread with the discovery of a bacterium in the United States that is resistant to the last bastions of antibiotic resistance.
A quantum dot: A high-resolution transmission electron micrograph of cadmium telluride nanoparticles. (The scale bar in the lower right is 2 nanometers long, or two millionths of a millimeter.)
Nagpal Group, University of Colorado
Quantum dots - minuscule semiconductor particles with specific light-absorption properties - can kill drug-resistant superbugs without harming the surrounding healthy tissue.
We often don’t know exactly how long is necessary to treat many infections.
funnyangel/Shutterstock
Doctors often tell patients to take a “course” of antibiotics, because a partially treated infection may result in relapse with antibiotic-resistant bacteria. But where this advice come from?
Gene editing allows us to eliminate any misspellings, introduce beneficial natural variants, or perhaps cut out or insert new genes.
Libertas Academica/Flickr
Should the gathering of experts from around the world that’s considering the scientific, ethical, and governance issues linked to research into gene editing ring alarm bells?
Antibiotics can prevent serious harm and stop infections becoming fatal. But they won’t kill common cold and flu viruses, and careless overprescribing by doctors can do more harm than good.
Tests on mice have shown certain antibiotic-resistant gut bacteria can be treated with faecal transplants.
Rick Eh/flickr
Two of the most common antibiotic-resistant bacteria circulating in hospitals can be wiped out by transplanting faeces from a healthy animal into the gut of an infected one, a study on mice has found.
Which of the following conditions would you prefer to have during your next stay in hospital? A. Staphylococcus aureus (Golden Staph) bloodstream infection; or B. a heart attack?
Antibiotics from both human and animal use end up in our waterways.
Alex/Flickr
The fight against antibiotic-resistant bacteria – so-called “superbugs” – is a huge challenge, one that the World Health Organization has described as a grave global problem. When superbugs hit the headlines…
We’re in a protracted war against superbugs because we’ve overused existing antibiotics: a key weapon against disease.
Nomadic Lass/Flickr
We’ve heard a lot lately about superbugs – bacteria that are resistant to current antibiotics. But as the threat of superbugs continues to rise, the number of new treatments available has flatlined. This…
Scientists have discovered that the natural environment is a major reservoir of antibiotic resistant genes.
Flickr: bizjournal
Resistance to commonly used antibiotics are in the genes of bacteria everywhere, researchers at the University of Lyon in France have discovered. A worldwide study of the gene sequences of bacteria, published…