antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Health & Safety

To Find The Next Antibiotic, Scientists Give Old Drugs A New Purpose

4:31pm August 12, 2019

by Luisa Torres

Scientists discovered that a medication used to treat parasites in horses can fight deadly staph infections. It's a promising new approach to solving the problem of antibiotic resistance.

Researchers tested sewage across Europe, including in Germany, where this treatment plant is located, for bacteria with resistance to antibiotics.

Scientists Look For Antibiotic-Resistant Germs In Raw Sewage

3:38pm March 27, 2019

by Jonathan Lambert

To track the spread of bacteria that resist antibiotics, researchers are trying wastewater testing to get a fast, accurate picture.

It's a bacteria-eat-bacteria world, scientists say. Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus, shown here in false color, attacks common germs six times its size, then devours them from the inside out.

'Predatory Bacteria' Might Be Enlisted In Defense Against Antibiotic Resistance

4:27pm September 06, 2018

by Richard Harris

Microbe-eating-microbes are found in "almost every ecosystem on Earth," says a defense department scientist who hopes bacteria of this type might one day be deployed to fight human infections.

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A piglet gets a shot of antibiotic at a farm in Illinois. The World Health Organization is calling for strict limits on antibiotic use in animals raised for food. The guidelines could push many countries, including the U.S., to restrict drug use on farms.

WHO To Farmers: Stop Giving Your Animals So Many Antibiotics

2:06pm November 07, 2017

by Dan Charles

The World Health Organization is calling for strict limits on antibiotic use in animals raised for food. The guidelines could push many countries, including the U.S., to restrict drug use on farms.

C. diff infections, which rose for decades, are now falling, according to the CDC.

C. Diff Infections Are Falling, Thanks To Better Cleaning And Fewer Antibiotics

12:59pm June 29, 2017

by Angus Chen

The bacterium C. difficile causes one of the most common infections in hospitals and nursing homes. After climbing for decades, the rate of new infections is now falling.

The ancestors of modern hospital superbugs may have lived in the guts of ancient land animals.

Health & Safety

Superbugs 'Crawled Out' Of The Ocean 450 Million Years Ago

6:01pm May 11, 2017

by Michaeleen Doucleff

We think of antibiotic-resistance as a modern-day problem. Now scientists have evidence that these superbugs have been around for eons. Clues to their origin are offering clues to their defeat.