Guest: Jessica Snyder Sachs.

Antibiotics and public santiation have led to dramatic increases in the human life span, but they have also disrupted the age-old balance between humans and the microorganisms that inhabit our environment. This morning on Focus we'll explore the "hygiene hypothesis," an argument that links the over-sanitation of modern life to increases in immune and other disorders. Our guest will be science writer Jessica Sachs, author of Good Germs, Bad Germs: Health and Survival in a Bacterial World.

Guest: Abigail Salyers, Professor of Microbiology at the University of Illinois.

Have we come to take antibiotics for granted? Microbiologist Abigail Salyers says yes. In fact, she says, many of us willingly participate in their misuse without thinking about the potentially disastrous consequences. Today on Focus we'll tackle the issue of bacterial resistance to antibiotics, what it means for the future of human health, and possible solutions to the problem.