We’ve gotten pretty graphic on this podcast before, but this episode takes it to a whole new level. The omnipresent Staphylococcus aureus is a bacterium that wears many faces. Often that face is harmless, but Staph has the power to invade and infect nearly every organ of the body, leaving destruction (and a lot of pus) in its wake. While Staphylococcus aureus has been wreaking havoc on humans since well before the discovery of antibiotics, Methicillin-resistant Staph aureus (MRSA) has risen to terrifying prominence as resistance becomes the new norm. If any disease could make you run out (or stay in) and wash your hands, it’s this one.
| History | Biology |
| McKenna, Maryn. Superbug: The fatal menace of MRSA. Simon and Schuster, 2010. | “A new class of synthetic retinoid antibiotics effective against bacterial persisters” Kim et al 2018 |
| Shinefield, Henry R., and Naomi L. Ruff. “Staphylococcal infections: a historical perspective.” Infectious disease clinics of North America 23.1 (2009): 1-15. | “Antibacterial Properties of Four Novel Hit Compounds from a Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus–Caenorhabditis elegans High-Throughput Screen” Tharmalingam et al 2018 |
| “The Rise of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in U.S.Correctional Populations” Bianca Malcom 2011 | |
| “Discovery of MRSA active antibiotics using primary sequence from the human microbiome” Chu et al 2016 |
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