Battling the Superbugs - The Future of Fighting Infections

Explore the critical issue of antibiotic resistance in this 51-minute panel discussion from the World Science Festival. Delve into the history of antibiotics, the current crisis of superbugs, and innovative approaches to combat resistant bacteria. Learn from leading immunologists, biologists, and infectious disease specialists as they discuss topics such as phage therapy, lysine enzymes, and the potential of the human microbiome in fighting infections. Understand the economic challenges in developing new antibiotics and the importance of public investment in research. Gain insights into the future of antibiotic use, diagnostic tools, and potential alternatives to traditional antibiotics. Discover how this global health threat could surpass cancer as a leading cause of death by 2050 and what steps are being taken to prevent this dire prediction.

- Participant intros:
- Antibiotic resistance experiment video:
- Discovery of antibiotics and early research:
- Overall benefit of the discovery of antibiotics:
- When did the scientific community notice antibiotic resistance?
- Why is bacteria becoming more resistant and dangerous?:
- Antibiotics are not precision weapons:
- Are we still developing new antibiotics?:
- The antibiotic market is broken:
- Finding antibiotics in the soil:
- Challenges of culturing bacteria:
- Explanation of phage therapy:
- Lysine enzyme as antibiotic alternative:
- Host health as treatment for infection:
- Complexity of discovering antibiotics in our own microbiome:
- The future of antibiotic use and potential replacements:
- The economics of the future of antibiotics:
- Phasing out broad-spectrum antibiotics:
- Investing in the future of antibiotics as a public good:
What is the accuracy of current diagnostic tools?:
Are there any government programs pushing research forward?:
Antibacterial products as disease prevention:
Is it possible to generate synthetic antibiotics?: