Category Archives: Antibiotics

AI Doesn’t Need ‘to Work’ for It to Be Adopted

Posted on April 16, 2024 by mikethemadbiologist

David Roth makes a very good point about how AI (whatever that means) will be implemented–not how it could be implemented, but how it will likely be implemented (boldface mine): At this stage in this increasingly ubiquitous and increasingly janky … Continue reading →

Posted in AI, Antibiotics | 2 Comments

AI, AMR, and Data Ownership: Blessed Are the Data Generators

Posted on November 14, 2023 by mikethemadbiologist

Our tech overlords are upset that they actually might have to pay people for their labor (boldface mine): Andreessen Horowitz is warning that billions of dollars in AI investments could be worth a lot less if companies developing the technology … Continue reading →

Posted in Antibiotics, Bidness, Genomics | 20 Comments

Given the Prevalence of STIs, We Need Doxy-PEP, but There Could Be Consequences

Posted on October 17, 2023 by mikethemadbiologist

And not good ones. For those who don’t know what Doxy-PEP is, Apoorva Mandavilli provides a good, concise summary (boldface mine): In a bid to stem the resurgence of sexually transmitted infections, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plans … Continue reading →

Posted in Antibiotics, E. coli, Public Health | Comments Off on Given the Prevalence of STIs, We Need Doxy-PEP, but There Could Be Consequences

Secondary Effects of COVID-19: Bathing the World in a Dilute Solution of Quaternary Ammonium Compounds

Posted on May 21, 2020 by mikethemadbiologist

Because you need one more fucking thing to worry about. One of the consequences of a global pandemic is that we are forced to do things that will have harmful consequences to combat the pandemic. Using less mass transit exacerbates … Continue reading →

Posted in Antibiotics, COVID-19 | 2 Comments

The Ugliness Of An Antibiotic Resistant Future

Posted on May 1, 2019 by mikethemadbiologist

While the worst thing about the evolution of bacterial antibiotic resistance is that we simply can’t treat deadly infections, there is a second worst thing–many more people will be needlessly miserable and sick (boldface mine): The first antibiotic that didn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Antibiotics | 1 Comment

Medical Tourism Is Still A Bad Solution

Posted on January 25, 2019 by mikethemadbiologist

From the CDC: Recently, some US residents returning from Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, were diagnosed with infections caused by an antibiotic-resistant form of Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria. All of the travelers with this particular infection had an invasive medical procedure performed … Continue reading →

Posted in Antibiotics, Healthcare | 2 Comments

AMR Genes In Space. BOOGA BOOGA?

Posted on November 29, 2018 by mikethemadbiologist

I really try to avoid giving scientific papers the full Mad Biologist treatment, so I was going to let this paper about antimicrobial resistance in space (BOOGA! BOOGA!) lie. And then I saw RT (not a big fan in general … Continue reading →

Posted in Antibiotics, Genomics | 1 Comment

Democrats Propose Some Good Antibiotic-Related Legislation

Posted on August 9, 2018 by mikethemadbiologist

While it won’t pass either a Republican-led Senate or House, Democratic senators Richard Blumenthal, Diane Feinstein, Kirsten Gillibrand, and Elizabeth Warren have proposed legislation, the Strengthening Antibiotic Oversight Act, that would do three important things: Requires the FDA to review … Continue reading →

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Urgent Care Centers Are Misusing Antibiotics

Posted on July 20, 2018 by mikethemadbiologist

This is a problem (boldface mine): Visits for antibiotic-inappropriate respiratory diagnoses accounted for 17% (n = 10 009) of retail clinic visits, 16% (n = 441 605) of urgent care center visits, 6% (n = 9 203 276) of medical office visits, and 5% (n = 257 010) of ED visits. Among visits … Continue reading →

Posted in Antibiotics, Public Health | Comments Off on Urgent Care Centers Are Misusing Antibiotics

Of Mice And Men And Antibiotic Resistance

Posted on April 19, 2018 by mikethemadbiologist

A recent mBio paper about bacteria and antimicrobial resistance found its way into the popular press, and, as you might expect, it’s not good. The problem aren’t the data in the paper, but the context (or lack thereof) into which … Continue reading →

Posted in Antibiotics, E. coli | 1 Comment