Briefing
Antibiotics are some of the most important medicines around. They kill tiny one-celled creatures called bacteria that make you sick. But sometimes the bacteria fight back -- by mutating into tougher strains that can resist the antibiotics! In this Mind Game, you'll try and save a sick patient before the germs get ahead of you!
Activity
In this game, you'll see patients' bodies filled with nasty bacteria.
Your job is to cure as many patients as possible.
To kill the bacteria, use the mouse to highlight a part of the body, and then click to zap it with antibiotics.
But be careful -- every time you use antibiotics, some of the bacteria that survive might mutate. (They'll change color when they do.) If they mutate, the antibiotic you're using won't work anymore. You'll have to move up to a new, more powerful antibiotic to keep playing. And there's no going back!
Keep playing until you've saved all the patients.
If you run out of antibiotics, the game is over!
Debriefing
What helped you play this game? Was it better to fire off your antibiotics all the time, or wait and use them carefully where they were needed most? If you were a doctor, when would you think twice before prescribing antibiotics?
More Info
Sometimes, when you get sick, antibiotics come to the rescue! Antibiotics are drugs that kill the bacteria that make you sick.
There are lots of different kinds of antibiotics. Some are stronger than others. But when you get sick, you usually won't be given the strongest one possible. Why not? Here are a few reasons:
1) A stronger antibiotic might be expensive. Why pay more when a bargain brand can do the same job?
2) A stronger antibiotic might have more side effects -- in other words, just taking the drug can make you feel bad.
3) Every time someone takes an antibiotic, a few bacteria might survive that are resistant to the drug -- in other words, they aren?t affected. The more an antibiotic is used, the more opportunities there are for resistant strains to develop. Eventually, all of the bacteria left floating around might be resistant to the drug, which means it's useless. So doctors need to be careful not to overuse any drug, especially one that's powerful.
For these reasons, doctors usually start by giving you a cheaper, less powerful antibiotic, and then move up to a stronger drug only if the first one doesn't work.
Remember, antibiotics can't cure everything -- they work only against bacteria. Illnesses caused by viruses (like the common cold) aren't affected by any antibiotics. Neither are illnesses that aren't contagious, like diabetes or cancer.