'Miracle' Era of Antibiotics Is Ending

Good news: The superbug MRSA seems to be under control. Bad news: A new one called NDM-1 is on the loose. Get used to it, warns Sarah Boseley in the Guardian. "The era of antibiotics is coming to a close," she writes. These "miracle medicines" can't fight off ever-evolving bacteria for long—figure another 10 years under a best-case scenario. "The post-antibiotic apocalypse is within sight."

Boseley insists this is not hyperbole, just science. As soon as researchers find a way to stop one multi-drug-resistant strain, another crops up. This poses serious complications for modern medicine on everything from pneumonia, to appendix removal, to organ transplants. Just a few generations ago, patients routinely succumbed to infection after ordinary surgery. "Welcome to the future," writes Boseley.
(Read more antibiotics stories.)