Mondo Knows Facts
Antibiotic resistance is evolution in action
Surviving bacteria pass on genes that let them withstand the drug Bacteria vary in their susceptibility to an antibiotic, and treating an infection kills the vulnerable cells first. The survivors multiply, so the population shifts toward resistance within a few generations. Resistance genes also spread sideways between species on small loops of DNA called plasmids. It sits in Mondo's science collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.
Where this comes from
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Tags: biology, evolution, medicine
Antibiotic resistance is evolution in action: the short answers
- Where does this come from, and can I check it?
- Surviving bacteria pass on genes that let them withstand the drug. The figure is taken from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
- Is this really a science fact?
- Yes. It sits on the Science shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
- What else can I read about it?
- The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.