The rise in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is globally recognised as one of the greatest potential threats to human health. No new class of antibiotic has been found since 1987, and in February 2017, the UN's World Health Organisation released its first ever list of the World's Most Dangerous Superbugs, saying, "Within a generation, without new antibiotics, deaths from drug-resistant infection could reach 10 million a year. Without new medicines to treat deadly infection, lifesaving treatments like chemotherapy and organ transplant, and routine operations like caesareans and hip replacements, will be potentially fatal."Aoibhinn travels to Geneva to meet Dr. Marc Sprenger, Director of Antimicrobial Resistance at the World Health Organisation to find out more about the AMR threat, and what is being done to fight back.

Genetics is currently one of the most exciting areas of scientific research and after decades of promise, the science of gene therapy, where ‘bad genes' are removed or replaced is finally starting to deliver and one of the best examples of this is happening right here in Ireland.