This week's Topic In Depth is about antibiotic resistant bacteria.

The first site is a recent news report from BBC news (1) that describes some recent research on resistant strains of two "of the world's most dangerous bacteria. Next is a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) page (2) with a brief background on antibiotic resistance and how to prevent it. A much more in-depth report is provided by the Select Committee on Science and Technology of the British House of Lords (3). There has been some public concern over the use of antibiotic resistant bacteria strains as markers in genetically modified food crops. The next two resources present information specific to this topic. The first is from the European Federation of Biotechnology (4), and the second is a shorter report from the Council for Biotechnology Information (5). The Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics (6) has a consumer and patient information section that explains what individuals can do to help prevent the problem from increasing. Readers who need a brief primer on antibiotics may appreciate this Web site from the University of Edinburgh (7). The last site is a "bugs in the news" feature from the University of Kansas (8), which is an easy-to-read explanation of "what the heck" antibiotic resistance is.