Hundreds of thousands of bacteria could fit on the period at the end of this sentence.
But size doesn’t matter in the realm of bacteria. It’s all about resistance.
Lucy Shapiro, a professor of microbiology at Stanford University, is addressing the U campus concerning the dangers these invisible germs pose.
“There is a tremendous problem today because we are losing most of our antibiotics to bugs that are becoming resistant,” Shapiro said. “This is the perfect storm; pathologists need to have a better understanding of these bugs.”
Shapiro specializes in microbiology, and understanding these germs’ basic mechanisms is an area critical to avoiding their resistance to current drugs, Shapiro said.
“This is interesting biology and has practical public importance,” said Jon Seger, a member of the Frontiers of Science selection committee. “(Shapiro) is a very distinguished senior personnel; talking about the battle between humans and bacteria is very timely.”
Antibiotics that were effective in treating bacteria years ago are now becoming useless because of their misuse.
“(Antibiotics) need to be treated with caution,” Shapiro said. “Patients should not treat them like candy or pressure their doctors into giving them antibiotics.”
Shapiro will be discussing her findings and the role that antibiotics will play in the future at the U’s final Frontiers of Science Lecture tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Aline Wilmot Skaggs Biology Building. The lecture is free and open to the public.