antibiotic resistance

Natural Defenses Could Fix Our Growing Antibiotic Resistance Problem

By Emily Monosson / On August 3rd, 2017
Untreatable gonorrhea is now a reality—and a sign of a growing threat to public health. Last month, the World Health Organization reported that some strains of the sexually transmitted disease are completely resistant to antibiotics. That means that unless something changes, when the inevitable college student ends up at Student Health with that burning sensation, there may be no respite.  

Life-changing Chemicals

By Emily Monosson / On March 25th, 2015
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), in green, with human cell, grey.
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Pesticide Cross-Resistance

By Andy Dyer / On December 15th, 2014
Reposted from the Chasing the Red Queen blog with permission. The concept of cross-resistance is well known in the medical world and in research on bacteria. The idea is that when a bacterial strain becomes resistant to one antibiotic, it can become resistant to another similar antibiotic even though the bacteria has never been exposed to the second antibiotic.
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Rise of the Superbugs

By Mark Jerome Walters / On May 5th, 2014
Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a sobering report on the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Two main messages are unmistakable: Antibiotic-resistant disease is no longer a threat looming in the future. The long-predicted threat has now arrived. Ecodemics like outbreaks of antibiotic-resistant disease are largely of our own making. We are not innocent bystanders.
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Changing the World Gene by Gene

By Emily Monosson / On March 12th, 2014
Here’s the skinny: evolution is happening all the time, all around us. Living things are like one roiling mass of DNA. OK, so that’s a little over the top.