Now, brown bear tooth DNA shows that after the introduction of antibiotics in the 1950s, the drug penetrated the most remote forests in Sweden almost immediately
James Fellows Yates, an archaeologist at the Max Planck Institute for Human History Research in Germany, who was not involved in the study, said that this study is a good example of how people can use ancient DNA to solve real-world problems
In order to collect samples, microbiologist Jaelle Brealey spent a long time studying the 1842 bear skulls collected by the Swedish National Museum, looking for things that represent the presence of tartar or dental plaque on their teeth
Brealey and his collaborators collected 82 bear tooth materials
The results of the sample analysis shocked the researchers: After the introduction of antibiotics in 1951, antimicrobial resistance across Sweden seemed to have exploded
The bear's teeth provide a record of what happened next
Guschanski said these bears are also a measure of antibiotic resistance
The study did not explain how this happened, but Guschanski and Brealey speculated that runoff from farmland may contaminate water sources, or that hungry bears may feed on prey containing antibiotics
David Díez del Molino, paleogenetician at the Stockholm Paleogenetics Center, said that using DNA from animal samples to measure environmental changes has great application prospects
However, the story of antibiotic resistance has a surprising ending
To Guschanski, this is a sign that it can be "cured" naturally
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