One of the biggest surprises to come out of microbiology in recent years is that bacteria have a social life. Rather than existing as lonely, autonomous creatures, bacteria live in communities, in which they cooperate, compete, and communicate. In the January issue of Scientific American, I have a feature about how some scientists are trying to translate their growing understanding of the social life of bacteria into a new kind of medicine. By preventing microbes from cooperating, we may be able to bring infections to a halt. Better yet, this kind of antisocial medicine may even be able to avoid–or at least slow down–the evolution of drug resistance in bacteria.

Here’s the introduction to my piece:

You can read the rest here. (Subscription to Scientific American required.)