The New Superbug!

A new strain of the E. coli bacteria seems to have become resistant to most antibiotics. Let’s talk about how this possibly happened.

Hosted by: Hank Green
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[azbyn]

It's not a bug, it's a feature

[samimas]

bacteria: 'what doesn't kill me, makes me stronger'

[fmaz]

The most powerful antibiotic should be kept safe, and people who need to use it have to be hospitalised in a special facility where they ensure the full dose is given to the patient and make sure the patient are fully cleared from the bateria when the leave.

[paulwebb]

Oh great, what's gonna kill us today?

[bartzrt]

Again, why no word on the overuse of antibiotics in the meat industry?

[jhjh]

Why did you not touch on how overuse of anti-biotics due to unsanitary conditions for livestock in animal agriculture massively contributes to these mutations developing?

[maanvis]

you're forgetting on of the most important reasons that bacteria grow resistant to antibiotics, and that's that a lot of antibiotics are administered to the animals that we eat, and often they are administered as a precaution instead of to actual sick animals.

[whatthefunction]

no talk of the negligent use of antibiotics in animal agriculture!!!

[leeroyjenkins]

Meh. Imo not a terrible buff, medicine was getting a bit OP...

[marialikesthings]

"MCR-1"
Me: When I was a young boy...

[HeliosLeon]

I remember few years back getting sick and my doc told me something about every person using antibiotics even when there bodies should be able to fight it off, and that it could make some illnesses more dangerous. I told him what about me and he said I’m healthy enough to go since it wasn’t a serious illness and was quite common. 2 days later I was feeling a lot better without using any antibiotics. I had no clue what he was talking about at the time I just took his word and his advice. Lol worked for me

[merlinemyrs]

Now it really is "my CHEMICAL romance".

[liddolbee]

mama, we're all gonna die...

PLEASE TELL ME SOMEONE KNOWS WHAT THAT REFERENCE IS AND WHY I DID IT

[firefox]

God is playing "Plague Inc: Evolved" again! -.-

[eln]

Awesome info Sci Show, you guys are the best, tnx for sharing it with the world!!!

[starlightsall]

Strong antibiotics are also misused and overused in animal farms to treat diseases often caused by the terrible conditions the animals are kept in. It's causing more superbugs to emerge and be resistant to more antibiotics

[teatoxic]

2:33 So you are saying Chinese aren't humans?



Couldn't agree more >:)

[TroyKnapp]

One point that a lot of these types of discussions ignore is the fact that making a bug "stronger" isn't a real thing. There is only fitness. Bacteria that have evolved to be more fit in an environment where antibiotics are present are often out-competed by bacteria that have no such immunity in an environment where there is no such antibiotics present. This is because it takes work to produce a antibiotic resistant plasmid, or whatever other machinery the cell uses to become resistant. Furthermore, when you are talking about growth curves, even minor differences in the amount of work it takes for a cell to reproduce are magnified exponentially as the populations double. Therefore, when the antibiotics are no longer present... these "stronger" cells have a decreased fitness relative to their non immune varieties.

[hedleypanama]

#Objection!!
Farms also use antibiotics in larger amounts... in way amounts that its use in humans...
Crickets! Crickets! Crickets!

[maxjenner]

I Like how SciShow increase the font size of keywords in their videos. It makes reading them at 3am from across the room with one eye open much easier.