Adaptive Mutation - A mechanism through which certain cells can increase the rate in which genetic mutations occur, often in response to stress. This mechanism may help explain how bacteria develop resistance to certain antibiotics.⏎
Bronchial Tubes - Large tubes that carry air into smaller branches of the lungs after the air has passed through the mouth, nasal passages, and windpipe.⏎
Beta-lactam Antibiotics - One of several families of antibiotics, including penicillins, cephalosporins, carbapenems, and monobactams, containing a molecular ring-shaped structure made up of three carbon atoms and one nitrogen atom.⏎
Antibiotic Resistance - The process through which pathogenic microorganisms, by way of genetic mutation, develop the ability to withstand exposure to the drugs that had once been successful in eradicating them.⏎
Chronic Disease - Any disease that is long lasting (3 months or more) or recurrent—as opposed to an acute disease—and cannot be prevented by a vaccine or cured by medication.⏎