Antibiotics are familiar drugs to us all, so familiar that we may take them for granted. They allow us to survive life-threatening infections, and allow us to protect the animals we farm for food. Many antibiotics have now become ineffective against common diseases, and there are few alternative treatments to replace them. In this topical popular science book, Laura Bowater, Professor of Microbiology Education and Engagement at Norwich Medical School, considers the past, present and uncertain future of antibiotics. This book begins by looking back at how infectious diseases, such as smallpox and the plague, were able to wreak havoc on populations before the discovery of the first antibiotics. These then revolutionised the medical world. In an engaging and accessible style, Professor Bowater takes the reader through how antibiotics are made, how bacteria are able to mutate and develop resistance and she explains why there is now a lack of new antibiotic drugs coming to market. What will a future of continued antibiotic resistance look like? How can human activities prevent the rise of ‘superbugs'? Professor Bowater highlights the need for universal cooperation in order to tackle this global health challenge, which, if not addressed, could transport us back to the medical dark ages.
Superbugged: How DNA pollution may spawn deadly antibiotic resistance--the story behind the headlines / Jessica Snyder Sachs, Discover, March 2008 -- Unit 4: New antimicrobial drug development -- 23.
The last 100 years has brought with it amazing medical advances.Yet, despite the discovery of vaccinations and antibiotics, the microbes have fought back and the human race is in ever increasing danger from superbugs that are drug resistant ...
The Biography of Resistance is Zaman’s riveting and timely look at why and how microbes are becoming superbugs.
The Resistance Phenomenon in Microbes and Infectious Disease Vectors examines our understanding of the relationships among microbes, disease vectors, and human hosts, and explores possible new strategies for meeting the challenge of ...
This collection of reviews and laboratory protocols gives the reader an introduction to the causes of antibiotic resistance, the bacterial strains that pose the largest danger to humans (i.e., streptococci, pneumococci and enterococci) and ...
Sitting in the same little office at the VA where I had met Joan's team some months earlier, in March 2006 I suggested to Dr. Yu Chen, a young epidemiologist new to NYU, that we use these data to test the hypothesis of an inverse ...
None of them, after all, came down with the most severe form of the disease, which results in kidney failure, bleeding from the lungs, and jaundice. This severe form is called Weil's disease, not after the French mystic Simone Weil, ...
This is the reason that Small Things Considered is a scientific and social media phenomenon that has impacted scientists at every stage of their careers and shared the magical of microbes with world.
With remarkable photography, kooky character illustrations, and lots of fun facts, this book uses real-life examples of microbiology in action to show how tiny microbes affect us in big ways.
How it all began -- Our microbial inheritance -- Microbes jump species -- Crowds, filth and poverty -- Microbes go global -- Famine and devastation -- Deadly companions revealed -- The fight back.