DailyDirt: Teeny Tiny Threats
from the urls-we-dig-up dept
Bacteria are all around us. They outnumber us vastly, and fortunately, nature has created a balance such that we seem to be able to coexist with these tiny organisms (for the most part). However, there are some disease-causing bacteria that are pretty nasty and deadly, so we were pretty lucky to discover antibiotics like penicillin. But the process of evolution is rendering our antibiotic medicines useless against a growing population of bacteria. Here are just a few informative links on these superbugs.- Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) -- also known as "nightmare bacteria" -- are resistant to the most effective antibiotics we have currently. Simple bacteria can exchange genetic information more easily than other organisms, and drug-resistance may be spreading among microbes -- in hospitals. [url]
- An imported batch of squid has been discovered with antibiotic-resistant microbes... in squid sold for human consumption. The bacteria found were not disease-causing, but this is the first time a carbapenem-resistant bacteria has been detected in the US/Canadian food supply. [url]
- Antibiotic resistance isn't actually a new thing. Ancient bacteria found in an isolated cave in New Mexico exhibited antibiotic resistance to multiple drugs that are currently used in medicine. Other ancient microbes revived from permafrost in the Yukon have also shown to be resistant to a bunch of common antibiotics. [url]
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: ancient bacteria, antibiotic resistance, bacteria, carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae, cre, microbes, nightmare bacteria, superbugs
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
[ link to this | view in chronology ]