Fascinating TED Talk on antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The average human body has more than 10,000 bacteria in and on it–in fact, the average human has more bacterial cells than human cells. Everywhere we look, there are millions of bacteria. Some bacteria are harmful, causing disease, and are commonly treated with antibiotics, the wonder drugs credited with extending the average human lifespan by 10 years.
The problem is that while human genes are relatively fixed for life, bacteria exchange genes all the time, resulting in growing resistance to antibiotics because of overuse, use of antibiotics in agriculture, and people stopping taking them when feeling better before the full dose is administered. This is resulting in superbugs, previously treatable, that are becoming lethal.
What can be done? More funding to develop the next generation of antibiotics.
Leave a Reply