Opinion: “Drug Sanctuaries” Offer Hope to a Post-Antibiotic World

Drug-free environments, such as a designated ward in a hospital, might reduce the strength of selection for resistance.

| 4 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
4:00
Share

ISTOCK, ERAXIONWe are at risk of entering a post-antibiotic era.

Each year since 2013, a major global institution—including the World Economic Forum, the World Health Organization and the United Nations General Assembly—has issued this grave warning to the world.

A post-antibiotic future is daunting. When the drugs don’t work, we get sicker more often. We stay sicker longer. This hurts the economy because sick people don’t work.

In response, we really only have two options.

One is to gather more arrows in our quiver—by discovering new antibiotics to which microbes like bacteria are not currently resistant.

The second is to manage our current arsenal of drugs better so that they remain effective for as long as possible. The key to doing this is to reduce the global burden of antibiotic resistance by decreasing the quantity ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to more than 35 years of archives, as well as TS Digest, digital editions of The Scientist, feature stories, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here

Keywords

Meet the Author

  • Rees Kassen

    This person does not yet have a bio.
Share
3D illustration of a gold lipid nanoparticle with pink nucleic acid inside of it. Purple and teal spikes stick out from the lipid bilayer representing polyethylene glycol.
February 2025, Issue 1

A Nanoparticle Delivery System for Gene Therapy

A reimagined lipid vehicle for nucleic acids could overcome the limitations of current vectors.

View this Issue
Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

Lonza
An illustration of animal and tree silhouettes.

From Water Bears to Grizzly Bears: Unusual Animal Models

Taconic Biosciences
Sex Differences in Neurological Research

Sex Differences in Neurological Research

bit.bio logo
New Frontiers in Vaccine Development

New Frontiers in Vaccine Development

Sino

Products

Tecan Logo

Tecan introduces Veya: bringing digital, scalable automation to labs worldwide

Explore a Concise Guide to Optimizing Viral Transduction

A Visual Guide to Lentiviral Gene Delivery

Takara Bio
Inventia Life Science

Inventia Life Science Launches RASTRUM™ Allegro to Revolutionize High-Throughput 3D Cell Culture for Drug Discovery and Disease Research

An illustration of differently shaped viruses.

Detecting Novel Viruses Using a Comprehensive Enrichment Panel

Twist Bio