Revenge of the bugs — and the body strikes back!

About the session

Bacteria are our ancient enemies, and many assume they have long since been defeated thanks to antibiotics. Unfortunately, that’s just not true. In this taster, you will discover how modern medicine is facing the real possibility of an unexpected slide back into the Dark Ages, when simple infections could kill and even straightforward operations were fraught with danger. While the world grapples with climate change and COVID-19, another ‘silent pandemic’ has been gathering steam: year on year, bacteria are becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics, and we still don’t have better solutions. Meanwhile, our bodies have evolved clever ways to fight these intruders, such as sentinel cells that patrol around, looking for trouble, and molecules that seek out and destroy bacteria. Unfortunately, the bugs always seem one step ahead — you will find out why, and what scientists are trying to do about it! The taster event will also include key course information and the chance to ask lots of questions to both teaching staff and current students. We hope to see you there!

Access Profile

• Live captioning will be available at this event
• This event is taking place on Zoom Webinar

We aim to make our events as inclusive as possible, so if you have any accessibility requirements or any other enquiries that are not covered in the above access profile please contact the events team at fms.education@ucl.ac.uk . If you could contact us allowing as much time as possible before the event we will be able to ensure where required that the appropriate measures are taken.