Background Videos
The videos below provide helpful background and context for all PARE modules and activities that students complete.
Why is antibiotic resistance research important?
The following videos provide helpful background and context for all PARE modules and activities that students complete. The videos were created by Tufts University PARE instructors and Tufts undergraduates, Scarlet Bliss and Eve Abraha.
NOTE: We use the more familiar term "antibiotic resistance" in the public-facing section of this website. In teaching material, we prefer the broader term "antimicrobial resistance". As defined by the World Health Organization, antimicrobial resistance is a broader term, encompassing resistance to drugs to treat infections caused by microbes other than just bacteria, such as parasites (e.g. malaria), viruses (e.g. HIV) and fungi (e.g. Candida).
What are Antibiotics and Antibiotic Resistance?
This short video is the first in a series of videos intended to introduce students in PARE to antibiotics and antibiotic resistance.
This video introduces antibiotics, what they are and how they kill bacteria. The concept of antibiotic resistance is also introduced. This provides a great starting point for students participating in any aspect of the Prevalence of Antibiotic Resistance in the Environment (PARE) Project. Eve Abraha is the host.
Emerging resistance to all classes of antibiotics is one of the defining crises of our time. The number of human infections resistant to treatment with antibiotics is growing, yet the origins of these antibiotic-resistant bacteria is unclear.
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria have been documented in various environments, including drinking water, surface water, food, and soil.
Antibiotic Resistant Bacterial Spread: Through the Environment and Human Exposure
In this video, we discuss spread of resistance from two perspectives— at the organismal level in which bacteria are spread through water, food, soil, and animals and at the molecular level -- DNA molecules carrying resistance genes. Eve Abraha is the host.
The prevalence and diversity of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the environment, and the risks they pose to humans, are not well understood, in part because there has been limited standardized surveillance.
There is consensus that environmental surveillance of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is an important first step in forecasting and targeting efforts to prevent spread and transmission of antibiotic-resistant microbes to humans.
Why Is Antibiotic Resistance a Public Health Issue?
This video is the third in the PARE introductory video series on antibiotic resistance in the environment.
Here, we discuss the global and regional significance of antibiotic resistance in terms of public health. We explain why antibiotic resistance often disproportionately impacts low-income communities, both in the United States and globally. Eve Abraha is the host.
Spotlight on Antibiotic Resistance Genes of Clinical Significance
This video introduces the main antibiotic resistance genes studied in the Prevalence of Antibiotic Resistance in the Environment (PARE) Project and why they are of interest to clinicians.
The primary genes are bla NDM -1, bla CTX-M-15 , tetA, tetO, tetM, armA, and mcr-1.
The genes discussed are found in environmental sources and enable bacteria harboring them to survive in the presence of antibiotics.
Many of the genes discussed are of serious concern because infections with bacteria harboring these genes are extremely hard to treat. In the PARE modules, we focus on study of these genes. Scarlet Bliss is the host.
Tools of Bioinformatics
This video introduces and provides background necessary for the PARE-Seq module of the Prevalence of Antibiotic Resistance in the Environment (PARE) Project.
In this video, we explain how biologists use the tools of sequencing and bioinformatics to survey metagenomic samples for antibiotic resistance genes.
The video "Analyzing a Metagenomic Sample in Galaxy" will walk students through the actual analysis component. Scarlet Bliss is the host.