The international agreement to address antimicrobial resistance

More than 39 million people are expected to die from antimicrobial resistance by 2050

In 2024, researchers published an incredibly detailed study aimed at predicting the real-world impact of antimicrobial resistance over the next 25 years. The key findings were clear: the superbug crisis is poised to get much worse and needs to be addressed. This article offers a clear, concise overview of the study, which was published in The Lancet.

Antimicrobial resistance is responsible for 1.3 million deaths each year

Antimicrobial resistance is a global health threat, driven by the misuse and overuse of antimicrobials in humans, animals, and more. Estimates suggest superbugs could lead to $1T in healthcare costs by 2050, and the world faces a shortage of new drug development to meet the challenge.

Tips for reducing the risk of antimicrobial resistance

Antimicrobial resistance is bad news. But there are lots of things you can do to both protect yourself from superbugs and help keep the problem of antimicrobial resistance from getting worse. This page from the CDC offers clear, straightforward guidelines that can help keep you—and your loved ones—healthy.

Drug-resistant infections worldwide have increased by about 65% since 2000

Since 1990, antibiotic resistance has claimed at least one million lives annually and is projected to account for 39 million deaths between now and 2050 if current trends continue. The expanded use of antibiotics, particularly in agriculture, combined with a slowing pipeline of new drugs has led to the crisis.

Resistant infections are no longer isolated and can spread worldwide

What does the rise of antibiotic resistance mean in practical terms? Maryn McKenna is a journalist at the forefront of covering antibiotic resistance since 2007. In this TED talk, McKenna lays out the very real consequences of antibiotic resistance—and what needs to be done to address the problem.

Antibiotic resistance is a growing global health problem

Over decades, bacteria have grown increasingly resistant to antibiotics. This resistance now causes an estimated 1.27 million deaths each year and is associated with nearly 5 million deaths worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.

The most critical superbug strains (as of 2024)

The World Health Organization updated its list of the highest priority pathogens known to have developed antimicrobial resistance. Topping the 2024 update is Acinetobacter baumannii, carbapenem-resistant ("CRAB"), which has a mortality rate close to 50% and has evolved defenses against last-line medications. Download the full report here.

Superbugs are bacteria and pathogens that rapidly evolve defenses against medication

Superbugs, or antibiotic-resistant bacteria, infect millions and pose a threat to global health. Developing new antibiotics is costly, offers limited profits, and struggles to outpace bacteria’s rapid evolution.

Roughly 80% of US antibiotics sold each year go to agricultural use

Antibiotics have long been used in agriculture to treat diseases in animals and plants. However, antibiotics are also often misused, to treat non-bacterial diseases, to encourage growth in animals, and more. This expansive use of antibiotics has become one of the primary sources of the emergence of new superbugs.

The new antibiotic killing drug-resistant bacteria

A new class of antibiotics had not been discovered in more than 50 years—until late 2023, when MIT researchers announced a new antibiotic called Zosurabalpin. In animal testing, Zosurabalpin was able to treat at least one type of superbug. While the drug still needs to go through clinical trials, it is a significant advance at a time when new antibiotics are in great demand.

A UN-led treaty may establish rules to phase out plastic globally

With support from more than 175 nations, a treaty led by the United Nations is being negotiated to establish enforceable global rules for plastic production and pollution by 2025. Negotiations come as the total amount of plastic in the ocean has increased by 50% from 2017 to 2022.

View when each UN member signed the Montreal Protocol

Adopted in 1987 to phase out ozone-depleting substances, the agreement achieved universal ratification by all 197 UN member states, making it the first and only such international treaty in the UN's history.

Examining the potential of the emerging field of insect-based bioremediation

Also known as entomoremediation, the novel approach uses larvae and adult insects, including their gut microbiomes and associated enzymes, to extract or degrade pollutants. As of 2025, research has shown that black soldier flies can degrade a wide range of antibiotics, highlighting their potential for bioremediating antibiotic-contaminated organic waste.

Women's wartime suit features silk dyed with CRISPR-modified bacteria

Anna Dumitriu's bioart piece was created to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the first use of penicillin in a human patient and intends to raise awareness about the rapid development of antibiotic-resistant pathogens by using bacteria that have essentially been transformed into their pre-antibiotic era state.

A snapshot of progress in cancer treatments

The American Association for Cancer Research's "Snapshot of a Year of Progress" offers an overview of significant advancements in cancer research and treatment over the past year. Take a quick look at the rapid pace of scientific discovery and the translation of research findings into clinical practice. In 2024 alone, health regulators approved 15 new anticancer therapies alone.

The ABCs and FAQs on GMOs from the WHO.

GMOs (or genetically modified organisms) are a subject of great debate in the food world…but how come? GMOs are organisms whose genetic materials have been altered in a way that does not occur naturally in order to create a product that has a...

Imagining the farms of the future

About 10,000 years ago, humans began to farm. This agricultural revolution was a turning point in our history and enabled the existence of civilization. Today, nearly 40 percent of our planet is farmland. Spread all over the world, these lands are the pieces to a global puzzle we’re all facing: in the future, how can we feed every member of a growing population a healthy diet? Brent Loken investigates in this seven-minute video.

Autoimmune diseases affect between 5% and 10% of people worldwide, but their causes remain unknown

Autoantibodies—which attack the body—may be detectable in the body years before a patient develops symptoms, but some people may have detectable levels yet never go on to develop an autoimmune disease. This video discusses this and other unsolved mysteries with autoimmune disease.

Chernobyl pushed the world to create rapid-alert systems for nuclear accidents

In the aftermath of the disaster, nations adopted new agreements requiring immediate international notification of nuclear accidents. They coordinated emergency assistance—efforts led by the International Atomic Energy Agency to prevent future disasters from being concealed when radiation emergencies occur.

Learn about the 'Goldilocks' of radioisotopes, which can help attack hard-to-treat cancers

Actinium-225 can be attached to a molecule that binds to cancer antigens, helping it target specific cancers in the body. It emits alpha particles that can damage DNA but do not penetrate deeply, confining the damage to nearby cancer cells. However, annual global production of actinium-225 is less than a grain of sand.

Understanding how the commodification of water has contributed to global water scarcity

In 2010, the UN General Assembly recognized access to water and sanitation as a basic human right, noting that an estimated 884 million people worldwide lack access to safe drinking water. The treatment of water as a commodity and reserves as property has contributed to unequal access and competition over its use, which is expected to intensify due to climate change.

COVID-19 vaccine breakthroughs are driving efforts toward a universal flu shot

mRNA and other technologies used for COVID-19 vaccines are being applied to influenza research. Scientists hope these advances will lead to a universal flu vaccine that protects against multiple strains and reduces the need for yearly shots.

The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and its successor, the WTO, was formed to reduce trade barriers between nations

Data from the WTO shows that this effort was successful, resulting in a quadrupling of global trade in goods and a reduction of tariff rates of member states by 44%. This indicates that the post-World War II international efforts to create a more liberal trade environment have been successful.

Experts suggest where the UN should be reformed

In 2020, as the United Nations marked its 75th anniversary, the Council on Foreign Relations' Council of Councils published a collection of expert essays proposing reforms to enhance the UN's relevance. This collection of essays is a thought-provoking look at the UN's future.

In 2024, China announced plans to establish an international lunar research station

The strategy, which runs until 2050, focuses on advancing space science, fostering technological innovation, and exploring habitable planets and extraterrestrial life, beginning with landing astronauts on the moon before 2030.

Learn how monoclonal antibodies, which mimic the body's antibodies, can fight diseases like Ebola.

Experimental hantavirus vaccines and therapies, still under development, have long been funded by the US military.

The use of fungi to detoxify land and water—a process known as mycoremediation—has been used to clean up natural resources affected by the 2025 California wildfires.

Astronauts have repaired genetic damage in space using CRISPR—a molecular tool that can make precise changes to DNA and is used in single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses.

This real-time tracking of the hantavirus cruise ship outbreak in May 2026 offers a unique glimpse into the global reach of the outbreak and whether the virus sickened passengers and their communities around the world.

Hookworm infection, though risky, may help fight certain autoimmune conditions by tamping down the immune system's inflammatory response.

Listen to an in-depth conversation on the links between Parkinson's disease and herbicide exposure and the challenging pace of scientific investigation.

Sunflowers have long been a symbol of nuclear disarmament because they can extract large amounts of radioactive cesium from soil.

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

The hormonal disorder PCOS was renamed PMOS in 2026, a move designed to improve care and research by shifting the focus to the hormonal causes of this condition that affects 1 in 8 women.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

During the French Revolution, a botanist's letter asking about "dear Rhus" (poison ivy) was intercepted, leading authorities to suspect he was conspiring with the Russians.

Some researchers have labeled nomophobia, the fear of being without your phone, as 'the phobia of the 21st century.'

11 people died from firework injuries in the US in 2024.

Telehealth demand for GLP-1s for weight loss is booming as consumers seek easier access.

Budweiser stores yeast derived from the original 1800s strain in a secret bunker, which only the Head of Yeast Management can access—not even the CEO

While atoms are normally made of protons, neutrons, and electrons, exotic ones have been built with antimatter—alternate versions of normal matter that live for fractions of a second and are about a billion times as rare.

Electrical grids worldwide must double their power delivery capacity by 2050 to meet surging demand from AI and electric vehicles.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is the largest ground war in Europe since World War II in casualties, forces mobilized, and displacement of civilians.

Double world record holder Hunter Ewen helped conquer his fear of balloons, called globophobia, by training to win Guinness World Record titles for balloon inflation.

In 2025, four executives from large tech companies were given positions in the US Army Reserves—including Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar, which reinforced Palantir's ties with the US military and its role as a leading defense partner.

Explore the history, structure, and species of Australia's Great Barrier Reef with this interactive journey narrated by Sir David Attenborough.

The US dollar is the most widely circulated currency in the world, and is involved in nearly 90% of global transactions

The term 'algorithm' originated from the Latinized name of al-Khwārizmī, a 9th-century mathematician whose works introduced Arabic numerals and the decimal-based numeral system to Europe and whose treatise 'Al-Jabr' gave algebra its name.