The topic of this week’s Table Talk was superbugs and antibacterial resistance, and how they are very closely tied with our own actions. From the overuse of antibacterial soap to doctors unnecessarily prescribing antibiotics, we are feeding a dangerous process of natural selection that may come back to kill us all – literally.

One major but perhaps not obvious way that humans use antibiotics is in agriculture and herding. This article speaks to usage of the antibiotic drug colistin that has led to the rise of an antibiotic resistant bacteria that has already resulted in human infections. Just this Monday, the World Health Organisation issued a warning  about the imminent threat posed by these ‘superbugs’ while we are running out of treatment options. This threat to human health is as much a national security threat as is terrorism, according to one chief medical officer. We are at a critical point where we must invest in antibiotic research or risk losing the effectiveness of our drugs which may ultimately lead to an apocalyptic and world-wide pandemic. We must also consider the policies regulating the use of antibiotics in our farms or else face the consequences.

One very cool concept that adds a note of optimism is in the alternatives to antibiotic products and drugs. Right now, there are no other drugs that work as effectively as antibiotics, but an emerging area of science is synthetic biology: the use of artificial viruses for treating bacterial infections. The development of this discipline and its eventual practice in medicine are essential if we humans want to continue to be one step ahead of antibiotic resistant bacteria.