Benjamin likes to compete in Math Counts, finding it more entertaining than just doing math problems. He also plays basketball and football. As a future physician or scientist, Benjamin says, "I want to change the world."
Benjamin's father is a physician. So when stories appear in the news about the frightening increase in antibiotic-resistant bacteria—particularly in hospitals—Benjamin reads them with interest. After seeing a story about bacteria on doctors' neckties, he looked around his home and noticed that his father often left his tie on the kitchen counter. Benjamin hypothesized that physicians' ties carry more antibiotic-resistant bacteria than the ties of professionals who don't work in healthcare.
Benjamin collected bacteria from the ties of 12 physicians and 12 professional men who work in non-healthcare fields. He grew the bacteria samples separately in media and then exposed the cultures to five antibiotics. A comparison showed that the doctors' ties had significantly more bacteria that were resistant to Augmentin, Avelox, and Levaquin. All 24 cultures showed bacteria resistant to Biaxin and Zmax. Half of the physicians' ties harbored bacteria that were resistant to all five antibiotics.
