Magazine
January-February 2014
January-February 2014
Volume: 102 Number: 1
A colorized transmission electron micrograph captures Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, a mobile bacterium that thrives in wet and moist environments such as soil and water. The bacterium frequently colonizes fluids used in hospitals, contaminating catheters and breathing tubes and causing serious infections in patients with weakened immune systems. S. maltophilia is one of a growing number of microbes that have developed resistance to multiple antibiotics. In “How to Fight Back Against Antibiotic Resistance,” authors Gautam Dantas and Morten Sommer describe how genes for resistance evolve and get passed between different bacteria and environments. Understanding the factors that influence those processes could extend the life of current drugs and point toward new disease-fighting strategies. (Photograph from the Centre for Infections/Public Health England/Science Photo Library.)
In This Issue
- Art
- Astronomy
- Biology
- Communications
- Computer
- Engineering
- Environment
- Ethics
- Evolution
- Mathematics
- Medicine
- Policy
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Technology
Flights of Fancy in Avian Evolution
Daniel T. Ksepka
Evolution
From mousebirds to terror birds, the class Aves has encompassed a remarkable diversity of species over the past 150 million years.
How to Fight Back Against Antibiotic Resistance
Gautam Dantas, Morten O. A. Sommer
Evolution Medicine
Mapping the exchange of genes between pathogens and nonpathogens offers new ways to understand and manage the spread of drug-resistant strains.
The Visual Trickery of Obscured Animals
Judy Diamond, Alan B. Bond
Environment Evolution
In many species, stripes and splotches of concealing coloration blend almost seamlessly with the surrounding environment, providing a crucial edge in survival.
Ocean Acidification: The Other Climate Change Issue
Ashanti Johnson, Natasha Denise White
Environment
Carbon dioxide from the atmosphere reacts with coastal water to increase the acidity of the ocean, a trend that threatens many marine ecosystems.
