Penicillin has saved an estimated 500 million lives since its creation—making it one of the most consequential medical breakthroughs in medical history.

Alexander Fleming’s discovery of penicillin revolutionized modern medicine. But the same man who pioneered the development of antibiotics also recognized that bacteria could make sntibiotics obsolete if they were used irresponsibly. This story sheds light on Fleming’s discovery—and on his prophetic warning about antibiotic resistance.

The vast majority of bacterial treatments were developed during the "Golden Age of Antibiotics," an era of rapid innovation and drug discovery that led to the reduction of millions of deaths worldwide. Since 1970, only eight new antibiotic classes have been discovered.

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.

The increased use of antibiotics combined with an aging population, is projected to result in an almost 50% increase in global deaths from antimicrobial resistance each year. At the same time, antibiotic use for livestock is expected to increase by 30% over the same time frame.

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 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.

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.

The overuse and misuse of antibiotics are significant contributors to the rise of antibiotic resistant bacteria. Experts say antibiotics should only be used for specific medical problems, and patients need to be sure to take antibiotics exactly as prescribed in order to reduce the risk of antibiotic resistance.

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.

In 1856, a chemist accidentally discovered mauveine, the world's first synthetic dye, while trying to make quinine to treat malaria. The synthetic dyes that followed helped reveal germs under microscopes, paving the way for modern imaging techniques and breakthrough treatments, such as antibiotics.

Why don't we just develop new antibiotics? In part, it's a complex scientific challenge, but market incentives also play a significant role. It can be time consuming, expensive, and most notably, we should use as little as possible to avoid driving further antibiotic resistance.

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.

For centuries, Type 1 diabetes was fatal. The 1920s "discovery" of insulin netted two of its creators—Frederick Banting and his boss, John Macleod—a Nobel prize. Separately, the German doctor Georg Zuelzer synthesized an effective version of the life-saving drug years earlier but was interrupted by World War I.

Superbugs are a very real problem, but researchers around the world are working to advance our understanding of these pathogens and develop new medicines. This podcast talks with several scientists on the frontier of superbug research, offering insight into what we know—and what the future of medicine may look like.

Unlike humans, bacteria rapidly make genetic changes in response to their environment, including creating defense against antibiotics. Furthermore, these defenses are passed on to their future generations and can even be shared with neighboring bacteria through horizontal gene transfer.

The COVID-19 pandemic was caused by a virus, and viruses can’t be treated with antibiotics. But recent research finds that COVID patients were given a tremendous amount of antibiotics, contributing to the problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Why? This NPR feature sheds light on an unexpected side effect of the pandemic.

The human species experienced a dramatic increase in expected lifespan over the past 150 years. Antibiotics, improved sanitation, and better worldwide food distribution are a few factors contributing to this rapid transformation. Use this interactive resource to explore longevity gains over time and compare these improvements across the globe.

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.

This article provides an in-depth historical account of the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, including its impact on the global population and how its occurrence spurred significant advancements in the study of viruses—laying the groundwork for the...

Peptide science dates back to the late 1800s with some early peptide synthesis work, but peptides took off in the medical sphere after surgeon Frederick Banting and his colleague's isolation of insulin from dog pancreases in 1921.

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.

One reason antibiotic resistance spreads so quickly is that bacteria have multiple mechanisms allowing them to share genetic material. This short video offers a concise explanation for each of these mechanisms, and animation that helps viewers understand how antimicrobial resistance can quickly spread from one organism to another.

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.

Koch was one of the first scientists to isolate the bacterium that causes cholera while investigating an outbreak in Egypt in 1883. He went on to advise about rules to control cholera outbreaks, which formed the basis of the disease control approaches and water hygiene techniques still used today.

Modern pandemics have been defined by the race between globalization (which increases risk) and the development of new medicines. The Great Influenza epidemic claimed some 50 million lives, and the COVID-19 pandemic killed more than 7 million. In between, diseases like Ebola, cholera, AIDS, and more have devastated communities.

Molecules such as DDT, a synthetic insecticide, and PFAS—"forever" chemicals used to make products resistant to heat, water, and grease—have historically been used across various industries but are now known to be harmful. Microbes that can convert some of these substances into nontoxic products, such as water and carbon dioxide, have already been identified, with ongoing research to find others.