BPoD has moved!

BPoD has recently changed our domain name - we can now be found at bpod.org.uk

Please update your bookmarks!

Now in our 13th year of bringing you beautiful imagery from biomedical science every day

Search the archive of over 4000 images

Waiting it Out

How bacteria persist without becoming antibiotic resistant

23 April 2021

Waiting it Out

Bacteria scheming their way past antibiotic treatments know that there’s often more than one way around a challenge. As well as antibiotic resistance – the increasing problem of bacteria adapting to repel antibiotics – some bacteria develop subgroups that simply wait out the antibiotic presence, persisting until the path is clear to expand again. Staphylococcus aureus causes a range of serious diseases, and can often withstand antibiotic treatment (pictured, with dead bacteria in red and surviving bacteria in green after treatment in a mouse). A new study has shown that the acidic environment created when cells are under stress combined with antibiotic exposure leads to a sub-population of the bacteria undergoing molecular changes and becoming dormant, hibernating until it’s safe to reactivate. The researchers then trialled a treatment targeting this sleeping beast, potentially pointing the way for new approaches to prevent persistent infections for good.

Written by Anthony Lewis

Search The Archive

Submit An Image

Follow on Tumblr

Follow on Instagram

What is BPoD?

BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

Read More

BPoD is also available in Catalan at www.bpod.cat with translations by the University of Valencia.