The truth about superbugs and antibiotics
By Julia Belluz - Friday, January 4, 2013 - 0 Comments
Staphyloccoccus aureus x 17,000 at 4 x 4 (Getty)
In a post about the most outrageous attacks on science in 2012, Science-ish asked you to pick the topic you’d like to see tackled first in the new year: you wanted the truth about antibiotics and superbugs.
It’s no wonder. The popular discourse about these rapidly multiplying, drug-resistant microbes is pretty freaky. An investigation by CBC’s Marketplace found deadly bacteria, like C. difficile, lurking in hotel rooms. Other stories have revealed that they are waiting to cuddle up with you in hospitals, and even peppering your chicken dinner.
Meanwhile, the British Medical Journal has reported that the dangers of superbugs may be over-hyped, turning poor germ-avoiding patients into hospital cleaners. But you, dear readers, know the cleansing light of evidence can wash away some of those fears. Here’s what the latest research tells us about antibiotics and superbugs:
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Learning to love germs
By Kate Lunau - Tuesday, April 29, 2008 at 5:19 PM - 0 Comments
To all the Purel-toting moms and dads out there: it seems the germs kids…
To all the Purel-toting moms and dads out there: it seems the germs kids pick up at daycare might actually make them healthier. A new study from researchers at the University of California, Berkeley suggests that kids who attend day care or play groups have roughly a 30 per cent reduced risk of developing leukemia.
Most types of childhood leukemia are apparently thought to originate in the womb—but it seems that only about one percent of kids with this mutation actually go on to develop full-blown leukemia by age 15, suggesting a second “hit” is needed during childhood. “We don’t know what all the stressors are after birth,” lead author Patricia Buffler told The Edmonton Journal, but one could be an infection. So, when a kid’s immune system is stimulated at a young age, he or she is “much better able to deal with contact with infectious agents later in life.”
