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]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.

Filed Under: ancient bacteria, antibiotic resistance, bacteria, carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae, cre, microbes, nightmare bacteria, superbugs