Antibiotics are medications that treat bacterial infections. They achieve this by killing bacteria or slowing their growth. Some common types of antibiotics include penicillin and macrolides. Medical ...

Prior to the discovery of antibiotics, infectious diseases were rampant. Communicable diseases were the most common cause of death, and the average lifespan was about 47 years old. However, this ...

Bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics are a growing health problem. These dangerous pathogens are already thought to contribute to the deaths of over 4 million people every year, worldwide. The ...

In the U.S., rates of reported gonorrhea have increased 118% from 2009 to 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A pill developed by GSK was found to be safe and effective ...

Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is a growing threat to human health. In an article published in the scientific journal PNAS, Umeå researcher Fredrik Almqvist and his colleagues present a new type ...

Antibiotics are used to prevent and treat bacterial lung infections in people with cystic fibrosis. The type of antibiotic you receive depends on what type of infection you have or are trying to ...

Healthcare professionals may prescribe antibiotics for types of rhinitis that are associated with bacterial infections. Treatments for other types of rhinitis include antihistamines, decongestants, or ...

Plasmids are self-replicating genetic elements that float separately from a bacterium’s own chromosomes. Plasmids evolve ...

Antibiotics may not only harm healthy gut bacteria but also have short- and long-term effects on a person’s health. For example, they can reduce gut flora diversity and affect digestion. Sometimes, ...

Cagey strategy Once the antibiotic was discovered, the researchers went to work figuring out just how it worked. They discovered that its killing mechanism is different from that of current ...