drugs

Doc Warns of 'Apocalyptic' Superbug 'Ticking Time Bomb'

Max Read · 03/11/13 07:20AM

Drug-resistant superbugs are "a ticking time-bomb not only for the UK but also for the world," England's top medical official warns in her first annual report, released today. Chief Medical Officer Dame Sally Davies writes that increasing bacterial resistance to antibiotics could turn routine operations into life-threatening procedures if infections become difficult to treat, and in the absence of tougher restrictions on the use of antibiotics—not just in prescriptions for humans but in the agriculture and meat industries—and concerted efforts to discover new drugs—there have been no new antibiotic classes since 1987—we could be heading toward "a health system not dissimilar from the early 19th century." Of particular concern are so-called "Gram-negative" bacteria like E Coli, which are now being seen in the UK more often than previously-hyped drug-resistant superbugs like MRSA, and are more common in the old, young, and immune-compromised. "This is your own gut bugs turning on you," Professor Mike Sharland tells The Guardian. "Between 10% and 20% are resistant to drugs." Davies suggests that the UK divert more resources toward developing antibiotics, and sound a global alarm on the issue: "This threat is arguably as important as climate change," she writes. Meanwhile, in the U.S., pet frogs are giving kids salmonella. [Guardian | Independent | Reuters | GIF via]

Flailing Man Sacrifices Himself to Save His Car from Nature's Wrath

Neetzan Zimmerman · 02/26/13 11:10AM

It's not entirely clear what this Argentinian car lover is up to, but the leading theory is that he's desperately trying to prevent his prized possession from being damaged by a powerful hail storm that recently struck the coastal city of Mar del Plata.

L.A. Idiot Keeps Doing Whippits as Gun-Toting Police Surround His Car

Kate Bennert · 02/01/13 03:45PM

A Los Angeles man wanted for allegedly drinking and driving was stopped today after a brief low-speed car chase in which LAPD disabled the vehicle with a spike strip. With nothing left to do but wait for police to apprehend him, the suspect started filling balloon after balloon from a canister in the passenger seat of his car and furiously huffing the ones he didn't pop. Eventually, police took him out with a "non-lethal projectile," dragged him out of the car, and wrestled him to the ground.

White Man Discovers Blunts

Hamilton Nolan · 01/29/13 10:11AM

Sure, everyone chuckled this week about the Dallas Police Department not having a fucking clue what "molly" is. But were we being too harsh on Dallas whites? Because even in America's greatest metropolis, some whites are just now discovering what blunts are.

Naked Florida Man Jumps Off Roof Onto Homeowner, Knocks Television Over, Empties Vacuum Cleaner, Masturbates

Jordan Sargent · 01/22/13 08:59PM

It's never a dull day in Florida, our country's most fantastic state. Let's set the scene: It's Monday, January 21, and an unnamed North Fort Myers resident is lying in bed relaxing after a hard day's work. Just after 7 p.m., he hears a noise coming from his roof — he thinks it sounds like thunder. He goes outside to investigate the disturbance, when he sees 21-year-old Gregory Matthew Bruni running on his house. Bruni leaps from the roof, tackling the man. Bruni is naked.