2003 Fall Semester

Freshman Seminar 23p: When Antibiotics Fail: From Sore Throats to Tuberculosis to Anthrax
Catalog Number: 4133
Enrollment: Limited to 12
Half course
Thursday, 2:00pm – 4:00pm
Converse 233

Every so often, the newspapers tell us that a “super-bug” has been found that is resistant to all (or nearly all) antibiotics, and that even the “last resort” drug is at risk of becoming useless. Most of us then go happily about our lives, until we fall sick. How serious is the problem of bacterial resistance? Is this a scare story put about by pharmaceutical companies, or is society really returning to the 1930s when serious illness and death from bacterial infections were commonplace? The aim of this seminar is to understand the nature of the “battle between man and microbe.” On the way, participants will learn where antibiotics come from, why they work, and how the forces of evolution result in resistant strains. By understanding the battle, we shall seek to understand how the irresponsible use of antibiotics is exacerbating the problem, and examine some of the ways in which new antibiotics are being added to the armory. Participants are expected to have a solid high school background in biology and chemistry.