Science | antibiotics Superbugs May Push Us Into World Without Antibiotics Return to 'preantibiotic era' may be inevitable By Drew Nelles Posted Aug 7, 2008 1:11 PM CDT Copied Matt Redinbo, professor of chemistry at UNC-Chapel Hill, holds a bacterial enzyme that he is trying to inhibit to kill drug-resistant microbes, Thursday, Dec. 20, 2007, in Chapel Hill, N.C. (AP Photo/Jonathan Fredin) See 1 more photo Antibiotic-resistant microbes don’t just open us up to dangerous illnesses—they also cost the American economy well over $5 billion annually, the New Yorker reports. And one expert says around 70% of the antibiotics produced in the US wind up in agriculture: "We've created a petri dish in our factory farms for the evolution of dangerous pathogens." A group of researchers reports that, with cases of untreatable infection on the rise, a “return to the preantibiotic era has become a reality in many parts of the world.” Experts are working hard to come up with alternatives to antibiotics, but it’s not easy. “As loud as my voice might be, there are louder voices screaming ‘AIDS,’ ” one says. Read These Next SCOTUS sounds skeptical about law banning gay conversion therapy. Felix Baumgartner's death attributed to his own error. Robin Williams' daughter: AI clips of him are 'disturbing' You might want to take mass transit instead of driving in this city. See 1 more photo Report an error