Homework
Weekly homework submissions:
Week 1 HW: Principles and Practices
- Describe a biological engineering application or tool you want to develop and why. Administration of broad-spectrum antibiotics, while clinically necessary to solve acute infections, leads to the gut microbiome imbalance, a state known as ‘dysbiosis’. This phenomenon is characterized by a decline in microbial alpha diversity and the depletion of obligate anaerobes, which are critical for the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and for maintaining gut homeostasis. This ecological instability also facilitates the expansion of opportunistic microbes, notably Clostridioides difficile, by eliminating the protective mechanism of colonization resistance. Furthermore, the persistent presence of residual antibiotic concentrations in the distal gastrointestinal tract exerts a potent selective pressure for horizontal gene transfer of resistance determinants, thereby enriching the intestinal resistome and contributing to the global crisis of multidrug resistance.