Why is it important that, for the very first time, we have reengineered Baker’s yeast to manufacture penicillin? Our team at Imperial College, London, inserted fungus genes into a yeast cell to make it produce penicillin molecules and our results are published in the journal Nature Communications this week. The reason that this is exciting […]
A new antibiotic, produced by bacteria found on a species of African ant, is very potent against antibiotic-resistant ‘superbugs’ like MRSA according to scientists. Researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA) and the John Innes Centre (JIC) discovered a new member of the Streptomyces bacteria family, isolated from the African fungus-growing plant-ant Tetraponera penzigi. […]
The internet has made it quick and easy for people to fill their prescriptions from a doctor, or buy over the counter medication with a click of a mouse. But a new study has found that online-only pharmacies, as opposed to internet versions of UK high street pharmacies, often don’t require prescriptions for antibiotics and […]
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The problem of antibiotic resistance is real and it has to be tackled on many fronts. The scale of the problem should not be underestimated. It is no longer a worry for the future, it is happening right now in many parts of the world including the UK. We are already seeing bacteria becoming resistant […]
“The time may come when penicillin can be bought by anyone in the shops. Then there is the danger that the ignorant man may easily under-dose himself, and by exposing his microbes to non-lethal quantities of the drug, make them resistant “ Alexander Fleming We are now at the risk of entering a dark period […]
Increasing antibiotic resistance is a global health emergency. According to the World Health Organisation, without urgent, coordinated action, the world is heading towards a ‘post-antibiotic era’ when drugs used routinely to treat infection will be useless. There are already antibiotic resistant strains of the sexually transmitted disease Gonorrhoea and syphilis, which are both caused by […]
Resistance to antibiotics Over my surgical career, I have seen a real change in the way we use antibiotics. Initially, we doled them out at every opportunity, not just to treat, but in the hope of preventing infection from surgery. Today, the situation is very different. We are seeing more and more people resistant to […]
Antibiotic resistance occurs when medicines are no longer effective in treating bacterial infections. This is potentially catastrophic, as much of modern medicine would become impossible without antibiotics. Simple infections would become life-threatening and common surgery would become unsafe. Antibiotics are not effective against viral infections, yet they are often used to treat them. Pharmacists are on […]
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Smell is a wonderful sense. It is intimately linked to our taste and our appreciation of foods and drinks. It is also an important sense for our safety, allowing us to detect gas, smoke, rotten food and other toxic chemicals. Reduced sense of smell is called hyposmia. Complete loss of smell is called anosmia. All […]
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