Super-resistant soil bacteria can thrive on antibiotics

It turns out that hundreds of bacteria can actually 'eat' antibiotics, according to researchers at Harvard Medical School. The scientific team isolated bacteria in soil and fed them 18 different antibiotics, including penicillin and ciprofloxacin. And almost all of them started to grow after the exposure. These bacteria could be classified as super resistant.

On the plus side, none of the bacteria found in the soil are a direct threat to humans. On the negative side, human pathogens could at least theoretically acquire resistance to antibiotics through one of their soil-dwelling cousins.

- read the report in the New York Times

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