Breeding Superbugs

Breeding Superbugs

Can antibiotic medicines, long hailed as miracle drugs, be too much of a good thing? Yes. Two factors are at work here. First, bacteria (one of the earliest forms of life on Earth) are miracles in their own right, with a stunning ability to outsmart the antibiotic...
Why I’m Breathing Easier in 2014

Why I’m Breathing Easier in 2014

For the first time in years, I’ve got health insurance. Before now, my “insurance” was nothing more than exercise, a healthy diet, and medicinal herbs. I’ve gotten insured through the Affordable Care Act without dealing with a buggy website...
Those Uninvited Guests at Your Barbecue

Those Uninvited Guests at Your Barbecue

Planning a Memorial Day barbecue? When you buy meat for that festive meal, watch out for some uninvited guests. An alarming amount of American meat harbors not just pathogens, but “superbugs” — antibiotic-resistant bacteria. For now, you’d better...
A Triumph of Sewage and Stench

A Triumph of Sewage and Stench

Just over a year ago, the Costa Concordia, a Carnival Cruise ocean liner, ran aground on an Italian reef. Thirty-two died. “We expect to fully recover from the ship incident,” the subsequent Carnival annual report told shareholders. Earlier this month,...