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Martin wades into abortion debateAs the Dáil committee hearings continue on the abortion bill, Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has waded into the debate saying it is important that Christian believers "be, and seen to be, on the side of life, especially when life is most vulnerable".
Payment cuts see families pay rent shortfallLimits on rent supplement payments set by the Government are forcing thousands of families to make undeclared top-up payments to landlords to secure places to live.
- WORLD
Anger as North Korea launches another missileNorth Korea fired a short-range missile from its east coast, a day after launching three more of these missiles, a South Korean news agency said.
How Star Trek predicted the futureWHEN Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry first dreamed up the concept of a television show based in the unexplored universe of Outer Space in 1964, the world was a very different place.
- BUSINESS
Warnings over future of eurozoneThe eurozone is heading towards a break up unless there are moves towards much closer political and fiscal union, according to chief economist with State Street Global Advisers, Chris Probyn.
Bruton defends corporate tax rateIreland will be able to maintain its current corporation tax code in the face of international pressure to prevent multinational corporations avoid paying their fare share of tax, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton said yesterday.
- SPORT
Mayo’s statement of intentGalway 0-11 Mayo 4-16 Five minutes to go in Salthill yesterday and James Horan was still cajoling his men to sew it into Galway.
Wilkinson inspires Toulon to gloryASM Clermont Auvergne 15 Toulon 16 Not for the first time this season, a matchday performance and the result have made a mockery of the statistics.
- LIFESTYLE
What Lenny did nextLENNY Abrahamson has directed three feature films: Adam & Paul, Garage and What Richard Did.
Clothes maketh you madTrying on clothes, said Ewart, produced "sensations which bring deep peace and perfect contentment" to the female mind.
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Today's stories
Hospital superbugs may be thriving on disinfectants
Disinfectants designed to keep bacteria out of homes and hospitals could be fuelling the growth of superbugs, a study suggests.Scientists found that exposing infectious bacteria to increasing amounts of disinfectant turned the bugs into hardy survivors.
Not only did they become immune to the cleansing chemicals, but they developed resistance to a commonly prescribed antibiotic, ciprofloxacin. This was despite the bugs not having previously encountered the drug.
The findings could have important implications for controlling the spread of hospital infections, the researchers believe.
Scientists led by Dr Gerard Fleming from the National University of Ireland in Galway, carried out the tests on Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacterium that causes a wide range of infections in people with weak immune systems.
Sufferers of diseases such as cystic fibrosis and diabetes are also vulnerable to the bug, which is responsible for many hospital-acquired indfections.
The scientists found that the bacteria adapted to disinfectant exposure by improving their ability to pump antimicrobial agents out of their cells.
They also developed a DNA mutation that helped them resist ciprofloxacin-type antibiotics.
Disinfectants are commonly used in homes, workplaces and hospitals to kill bacteria on surfaces, while antibiotics are administered to infected patients.
Bacteria that can resist both these control points could be a serious threat in hospitals, said the scientists.
The study, reported in the January issue of the journal Microbiology, showed that exposure to small non-lethal amounts of disinfectant encouraged the survival of resistant bacteria.
Dr Fleming said: “In principle this means that residue from incorrectly diluted disinfectants left on hospital surfaces could promote the growth of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. What is more worrying is that bacteria seem to be able to adapt to resist antibiotics without even being exposed to them.”
He stressed the importance of studying environmental factors that might promote antibiotic resistance.
“We need to investigate the effects of using more than one type of disinfectant on promoting antibiotic-resistant strains,” he said. “This will increase the effectiveness of both our first and second lines of defence against hospital-acquired infections.”