The ability of bacteria to survive and multiply despite the presence of antibiotics that would normally kill them or stop their growth. This occurs through genetic mutations or acquisition of resistance genes.
From Greek 'anti' meaning 'against,' 'bios' meaning 'life,' and Latin 'resistere' meaning 'to stand against.' The concept emerged in the 1940s shortly after antibiotics were discovered, as bacteria quickly evolved countermeasures.
Antibiotic resistance is evolution in fast-forward - bacteria can develop and share resistance like trading cards, passing survival tricks to their neighbors through horizontal gene transfer! What took humans millions of years to evolve, bacteria can accomplish in hours through this genetic sharing network.
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