Fossil Drugs
A natural history of antibiotics - and how we burned through themSelect a format:
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Summary
Fossil Drugs is a gripping science narrative about antibiotics that reveals how human discovery and innovation have also meant the exploitation and harvest of the natural world in pursuit of the 'fossil fuels' of medicine.
The discovery of antibiotics was one of humanity's greatest achievements, yet we didn't invent them: bacteria did. In the twentieth century, we stole this awesome natural power by working out how to create these molecules ourselves. We've since regarded them as a cheap everlasting fuel that powers modern medicine - but at what cost?
Taking a different molecule as the starting point for each chapter, Fossil Drugs tells the story of antibiotics, starting with their origins millions of years ago as an invention of bacteria, and working through humanity's mining of the oceans and soils for naturally occurring antibiotic molecules, all the way to the brilliant invention of synthetic versions in the second half of the 20th century. But like fossil fuels, antibiotics are an overused and finite resource. Through this fascinating account, Shaw reveals the urgent reality that if we are to adapt to the future of antibiotic resistance, we need to understand how they really work: and fast.
The discovery of antibiotics was one of humanity's greatest achievements, yet we didn't invent them: bacteria did. In the twentieth century, we stole this awesome natural power by working out how to create these molecules ourselves. We've since regarded them as a cheap everlasting fuel that powers modern medicine - but at what cost?
Taking a different molecule as the starting point for each chapter, Fossil Drugs tells the story of antibiotics, starting with their origins millions of years ago as an invention of bacteria, and working through humanity's mining of the oceans and soils for naturally occurring antibiotic molecules, all the way to the brilliant invention of synthetic versions in the second half of the 20th century. But like fossil fuels, antibiotics are an overused and finite resource. Through this fascinating account, Shaw reveals the urgent reality that if we are to adapt to the future of antibiotic resistance, we need to understand how they really work: and fast.