Explaining Antibiotic Resistance - Personal Blog Post 5

Something I've really taken away from this class is the importance of being able to explain concepts in science to those who do not have a background in science. This is especially important right now, as there is a lot of distrust of scientists and false information being spread around by individuals in positions of perceived authority. Being able to communicate research in a way people can easily grasp justifies the authority of scientists to the general person, otherwise most people don't understand why scientists can reach a conclusion and why they should believe them.

As someone who is a first generation college student, I often have to teach my family members about scientific concepts so they have context for my major, the classes I'm taking, my research, and my career goals. However, going all science-mumbo-jumbo-jargon is just going to not get my point across and likely seem like I'm talking down to them, which would make them less receptive. Therefore, I find the best way to explain things is in analogies so they can relate to the concepts better. What inspired me to write this post is the analogy I provided last night to my mom about how antibiotic resistance can develop and one of my parents' favorite TV shows.

My parents are fans of the show Yellowstone, which if you are unfamiliar is about a Montana ranch run by the Dutton family and all the drama that surrounds keeping the ranch going. There is a spinoff called 1923, which is about the first generation of Duttons to live on the ranch. In the first episode of 1923, the Dutton family butts heads with a group of shepherds who keep trespassing on their land. Some of the shepherds organize together and attack the Duttons on their land, which does not go well for the shepherds. The ones who are not killed in the shootout forced to sit on their horses with their hands tied and nooses around their neck, so that if the horses spook or wander, its rider will be hanged. Instead of watching to make sure that all the men hang, the Duttons leave them for dead while some of the shepherds are still alive. One of the shepherds manages to keep his horse steady and free his hands, which allows him to get out of the noose and escape. Later in the season, this shepherd has recovered and comes back with a stronger militia to launch a more effective attack, as now he knows details like the manpower the Duttons have, the layout of the ranch, which members of the ranch are the ones calling the shots and thus make the best targets. All of these were details he picked up in the first attack.

My explanation was in why it is important to take prescribed antibiotics for the entire period, not just until symptoms go away. The way I explained it was that the Dutton family was like the antibiotics, while the shepherds were the pathogen. Had the Duttons stuck around longer to ensure all of the shepherds that attacked them actually hung, they would have ended the conflict entirely. However, because they pulled out before, just instead assuming they were all going to die, it gave one of the shepherds the opportunity to escape and come back with a better attack. This is what happens when you remove the antibiotics before the pathogen is completely eradicated; the strongest of the bacteria, the ones that the antibiotics did not immediately kill, are able to recolonize and pass their antibiotic ability to a greater population. Just like how the shepherd came back with a stronger, more effective attack, the bacteria can recolonize and the sickness can return. When the Dutton family tried to fight the regrouped shepherds off the same way as they did before, they had more casualties and were less effective because the shepherds had knowledge of how the Duttons fought and thus could counter better, which this second group would not have known had all the members of the first group died. This is the same thing that happens when you try and use the same antibiotic against the returned infection - it is less effective if even at all.

That explanation made a lot of sense to my mom, and we were able to have a good conversation about the topic. Obviously, there are many ways to teach someone a concept, but I thought I would share this because it was very effective in communicating science to someone without any sort of background in the topic!