Gut microbes in healthy kids carry antibiotic resistance genes
Friendly microbes in the intestinal tracts of healthy American children have numerous antibiotic resistance genes, according to results of a pilot study by scientists at the School of Medicine. The genes are cause for concern because they
can be shared with harmful microbes, interfering with the effectiveness of antibiotics in ways that can contribute to serious illness and, in some cases, death. Pictured is the study’s senior author, Gautum Dantas, PhD.
Human and soil bacteria swap antibiotic-resistance genes
Soil bacteria and bacteria that cause human diseases
have recently swapped at least seven antibiotic-resistance genes,
researchers at Washington University School of Medicine report on Aug.
31 in Science.