Antibiotic resistance
hideAntibiotic resistance is the ability of a microorganism to withstand the effects of antibiotics. It is a specific type of drug resistance. Antibiotic resistance evolves via natural selection acting upon random mutation, but it can also be engineered by applying an evolutionary stress on a population. Once such a gene is generated, bacteria can then transfer the genetic information in a horizontal fashion (between individuals) by plasmid exchange. If a bacterium carries several resistance genes, it is called multiresistant or, informally, a superbug. The term antimicrobial resistance is sometimes used to explicitly encompass organisms other than bacteria.
Antibiotic resistance can also be introduced artificially into a microorganism through transformation protocols. This can aid in implanting artificial genes into the microorganism. If the resistance gene is linked with the gene to be implanted, the antibiotic can be used to kill off organisms that lack the new gene.
For more information about Antibiotic resistance, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with antibiotic resistance
Researchers discover a way to strengthen proteins
Dec 10, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
Proteins, which perform such vital roles in our bodies as building and maintaining tissues and regulating cellular processes, are a finicky lot. In order to work properly, they must be folded just so, yet many proteins readily ...
Scientists get up close to bacteria's toxic pumps
Nov 30, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
Scientists are building a clearer image of the machinery employed by bacteria to spread antibiotic resistance or cause diseases such as whooping cough, peptic stomach ulcers and legionnaires' disease.
New study finds MRSA on the rise in hospital outpatients
Nov 24, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
The community-associated strain of the deadly superbug MRSA -- an infection-causing bacteria resistant to most common antibiotics -- poses a far greater health threat than previously known and is making its way into hospitals, ...
Study reveals why certain drug combinations backfire
Nov 13, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (4) |
0
Combination drug therapy has become a staple for treating many infections. For instance, doctors treat extensively drug resistant forms of tuberculosis with one drug that breaks down the pathogen's protective barriers and ...
Misuse of antibiotics not the only cause of resistance says report
Oct 15, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
The perception that antibiotic resistance is primarily the undesirable consequence of antibiotic abuse or misuse is a view that is simplistic and inaccurate, according to a recent report by the American Academy of Microbiology. ...
Researchers identify workings of L-form bacteria
Oct 13, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have for the first time identified the genetic mechanisms involved in the formation and survival of L-form bacteria. Their findings are described in a study ...
Death by light: Nanoparticles as agents for the photodynamic killing of antibiotic-resistant bacteria
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Oct 05, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (3) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- The increasing antibiotic resistance of bacteria is a serious problem of our time. Hospital germs in particular have developed strains against which practically every current antibiotic is ineffective. In ...
Researchers discover a new antibacterial lead
Sep 27, 2009 |
3.8 / 5 (6) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Antibiotic resistance has been a significant problem for hospitals and health-care facilities for more than a decade. But despite the need for new treatment options, there have been only two ...
C. difficile hypervirulence genes identified
Sep 25, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
Five genetic regions have been identified that are unique to the most virulent strain of Clostridium difficile (C. difficile), the hospital superbug. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Genome Biolog ...
'Evolutionary forecasting' for drug resistance
Sep 21, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
Rice University biochemists are developing a system of "evolutionary forecasting" to better understand the mechanisms of antibiotic resistance.
Man-made crises 'outrunning our ability to deal with them,' scientists warn
Sep 11, 2009 |
2.6 / 5 (14) |
41
The world faces a compounding series of crises driven by human activity, which existing governments and institutions are increasingly powerless to cope with, a group of eminent environmental scientists and economists has ...
Chemical Additive Could Make Old Antibiotics Viable Against Antibiotic-Resistant Bugs
Sep 10, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
2
(PhysOrg.com) -- A Texas Tech researcher said a recently patented chemical additive could break down the shield of certain types of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Distribution of antibiotic for eye disease linked to low death risk among Ethiopian children
Sep 01, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
Children in Ethiopia who received the antibiotic azithromycin as a method for controlling the contagious eye disease trachoma had a lower odds of death compared to children who did not receive the antibiotic, according to ...
'Jumping genes' create antibiotic resistance in bacteria
Aug 20, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- A small piece of foreign DNA recognizes when and where to slip into a bacterium's genetic code, allowing bacteria to genetically adapt to their environment -- and develop resistance to antibiotics, ...
New drug-resistant TB strains could become widespread, says new study
Aug 10, 2009 |
1 / 5 (1) |
0
The emergence of new forms of tuberculosis could swell the proportion of drug-resistant cases globally, a new study has found. The finding raises concern that although TB incidence is falling in many regions, the emergence ...
