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Five ways science is tackling the antibiotic resistance crisis

Humans are locked in an arms race with microbes, but scientists are pursuing diverse approaches to keep one step ahead or slow down the competition.
  1. Amber Dance

    1. Amber Dance is a freelance science journalist in the Los Angeles area.

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Coloured transmission electron micrograph of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus shown in blue on a bright pink background

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of many pathogens made more deadly by antimicrobial resistance. Credit: Biomedical Imaging Unit, Southampton General Hospital/Science Photo Library

Johan Paulsson’s interest in antibiotics began with body aches and nausea in August 2021. His illness, which quickly progressed to a full-body bloodstream infection, landed him in the emergency department. “It was fairly dramatic,” recalls Paulsson. He spent a week in hospital and his organs began to fail. Although his memory of the time is fuzzy, he recalls that his physicians tried three different antibiotics, one by one, to find the drug that finally made him feel better.

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Nature 632, 494-496 (2024)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-02601-4

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