How do antibiotics work?
BLUF: Antibiotics exploit fundamental differences between bacteria and human cells.
A fundamental explanation of how do antibiotics work?
The Explanation
Antibiotics exploit fundamental differences between bacteria and human cells. They target bacterial structures or processes (cell walls, ribosomes, DNA machinery) that humans lack or have in different form. For instance, penicillins weaken bacterial cell walls (which humans don't have), causing the bugs to burst. Other classes (tetracyclines, macrolides) inhibit bacterial protein synthesis on 70S ribosomes, stopping growth. Some antibiotics are bactericidal (kill bacteria directly), others are bacteriostatic (stop growth). By selectively attacking bacteria's unique biology, antibiotics clear infections without harming human cells.