Fighting infection: from Joseph Lister to superbugs - Science Weekly podcast

Nicola Davis explores the origins of antiseptic surgery and asks what we might learn from its founding father about taking on today's biggest healthcare threats

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In March 1867, the Lancet published an article by surgeon Joseph Lister that would change the healthcare landscape completely. The article was the first of several, detailing the culmination of Lister's life work exploring the connection between germs and infection. Fast forward a century-and-a-half and today Joseph Lister is widely known as the father of antiseptic surgery, saving countless lives both in hospitals and further afield. But how was it that Lister came to his groundbreaking conclusions? How did his colleagues react? And, looking at the present situation, what challenges might we face that Lister would be all too familiar with?