Imagine a world where something as common as strep throat could kill you. Antibiotic resistance is an issue that becomes more and more severe as each day passes, however the threat of antibiotic resistance has been easily overlooked by millions. Antibiotics are used to treat infections that are caused by thousands of different bacteria, and have saved billions of lives since penicillin was created in 1940 by Alexander Fleming (Daniel, 1987). “The current world-wide increase in resistant bacteria and, simultaneously, the downward trend in the development of new antibiotics have serious implications.” (Cars & Nordberg). Whether it be strep throat, pneumonia, or tuberculosis antibiotics have dramatically lowered the mortality rate of these infections
…show more content…
Bacteria is generally conveyed as bad to our health. Of course that is not the case, in fact humans host their own diverse and unique community of organisms called the Human Microbiome, however scientists have just recently discovered that the human microbiome even exists thanks to the development of modern technology. Since the discovery is so recent there is little knowledge of the human microbiome to date. Scientists believe there may be multiple ecosystems within the human microbiome (Cho & Blaser, 2012). There are ten times more bacteria in our bodies than there are human cells, that means we are ninety percent bacteria and ten percent human. Without these bacteria, humans would not be able to survive, but our microbiomes are in an ongoing extinction process (Cho & Blaser, …show more content…
Unfortunately, not until recently did leading researchers and scientists even discover the human microbiome. Luckily, almost every day there is new information surfacing on the microbiome, yet there is no clear solution on the horizon.
Humans in the U.S. have lost a third of their microbial diversity, mostly on their skin and in their stomachs and digestive tracts, said Maria Gloria Dominguez-Bello, associate professor of medicine at NYU. It is widely accepted that the cause of this devastating loss is overuse of antibiotics and modern sanitization. Babies born via C-section have a higher likelihood of developing asthma, allergies, obesity and other health risks because they are not exposed to as much bacteria as babies born naturally (Goldberg
Bacteria is generally conveyed as bad to our health. Of course that is not the case, in fact humans host their own diverse and unique community of organisms called the Human Microbiome, however scientists have just recently discovered that the human microbiome even exists thanks to the development of modern technology. Since the discovery is so recent there is little knowledge of the human microbiome to date. Scientists believe there may be multiple ecosystems within the human microbiome (Cho & Blaser, 2012). There are ten times more bacteria in our bodies than there are human cells, that means we are ninety percent bacteria and ten percent human. Without these bacteria, humans would not be able to survive, but our microbiomes are in an ongoing extinction process (Cho & Blaser, …show more content…
Unfortunately, not until recently did leading researchers and scientists even discover the human microbiome. Luckily, almost every day there is new information surfacing on the microbiome, yet there is no clear solution on the horizon.
Humans in the U.S. have lost a third of their microbial diversity, mostly on their skin and in their stomachs and digestive tracts, said Maria Gloria Dominguez-Bello, associate professor of medicine at NYU. It is widely accepted that the cause of this devastating loss is overuse of antibiotics and modern sanitization. Babies born via C-section have a higher likelihood of developing asthma, allergies, obesity and other health risks because they are not exposed to as much bacteria as babies born naturally (Goldberg