Why antibiotics are like fossil fuels

They helped create the modern world but are dangerously overused. How can we harness them sustainably?

In 1954, just a few years after the widespread introduction of antibiotics, doctors were already aware of the problem of resistance. Natural selection meant that using these new medicines gave an advantage to the microbes that could survive the assault – and a treatment that worked today could become ineffective tomorrow. A British doctor put the challenge in military terms: “We may run clean out of effective ammunition. Then how the bacteria and moulds will lord it.”

More than 70 years later, that concern looks prescient. The UN has called antibiotic resistance “one of the most urgent global health threats”. Researchers estimate that resistance already kills more than a million people a year, with that number forecast to grow. And new antibiotics are not being discovered fast enough; many that are essential today were discovered more than 60 years ago.

Continue reading...

SpaceX Launches 24 More Starlink Satellites, Expands Global Internet Network

SpaceX successfully launched 24 new Starlink satellites on Aug. 14, lifting off at 1:05 a.m. EDT from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. The first-stage booster, B1093, completed its fifth flight and landed smoothly on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean. This mission marked SpaceX’s 98th Falcon 9 flight of 2025, raising the active Starlink constellation to over 8,100 satellites. Starlink currently delivers broadband service to about 130 countries and territories, targeting near-global coverage with a planned 12,000-satellite network. SpaceX’s next mission, Starlink 17-5, is set for Aug. 15, aiming to send another 24 satellites into orbit to further expand the network.

NASA’s PUNCH Mission Completes Final Orbit Manoeuvres, Opens Early Sun Data to the Public

NASA’s PUNCH mission has reached full operational status, enabling continuous monitoring of the Sun and solar wind from multiple vantage points around Earth. This collaborative effort complements other major solar missions and promises valuable insights into the Sun–Earth connection. Early public release of PUNCH’s science data marks an exciting opportunity for researchers and space enthusiasts worldwide.