The Not-So-Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in Antibiotic Research: An Interdisciplinary Opportunity
Literary-rhetorical devices like figurative language and analogy can help explain concepts that exceed our capacity to grasp intuitively. It is not surprising these devices are used to discuss virulence, pathogenesis, and antibiotics. Allusions to Robert Louis Stevenson’s <i>Strange Case of Dr...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-12-01
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| Series: | Antibiotics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/10/1/19 |
| _version_ | 1797543281834328064 |
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| author | Lorenzo Servitje |
| author_facet | Lorenzo Servitje |
| author_sort | Lorenzo Servitje |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Literary-rhetorical devices like figurative language and analogy can help explain concepts that exceed our capacity to grasp intuitively. It is not surprising these devices are used to discuss virulence, pathogenesis, and antibiotics. Allusions to Robert Louis Stevenson’s <i>Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde</i> seem to be used with particular frequency in research pertaining to pathogens, especially in studies contemporary with our evolving understanding of antibiotic resistance. More recent references to the text have appeared in research parsing definitions of virulence and acknowledging the role of anti-virulence in future therapeutics. While it is obvious that scientists invoke Stevenson’s story for stylistic purposes, its use could go beyond the stylistic—and might even generate rhetorical and imaginative possibilities for framing research. This perspective discusses the first published allusion to <i>Jekyll and Hyde</i> in reference to virulence and pathogenesis; comments on a select number of specific instances of <i>Jekyll and Hyde</i> in contemporary scientific literature; briefly contextualizes the novel; and concludes with the implications of a more productive engagement with humanistic disciplines in the face of antibiotic resistance. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:43:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-21c3ac7d88b24b1ab59469df3fcf6848 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2079-6382 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:43:19Z |
| publishDate | 2020-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Antibiotics |
| spelling | doaj.art-21c3ac7d88b24b1ab59469df3fcf68482023-11-21T02:49:25ZengMDPI AGAntibiotics2079-63822020-12-011011910.3390/antibiotics10010019The Not-So-Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in Antibiotic Research: An Interdisciplinary OpportunityLorenzo Servitje0Department of English, Health, Medicine, and Society Program, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA 18015, USALiterary-rhetorical devices like figurative language and analogy can help explain concepts that exceed our capacity to grasp intuitively. It is not surprising these devices are used to discuss virulence, pathogenesis, and antibiotics. Allusions to Robert Louis Stevenson’s <i>Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde</i> seem to be used with particular frequency in research pertaining to pathogens, especially in studies contemporary with our evolving understanding of antibiotic resistance. More recent references to the text have appeared in research parsing definitions of virulence and acknowledging the role of anti-virulence in future therapeutics. While it is obvious that scientists invoke Stevenson’s story for stylistic purposes, its use could go beyond the stylistic—and might even generate rhetorical and imaginative possibilities for framing research. This perspective discusses the first published allusion to <i>Jekyll and Hyde</i> in reference to virulence and pathogenesis; comments on a select number of specific instances of <i>Jekyll and Hyde</i> in contemporary scientific literature; briefly contextualizes the novel; and concludes with the implications of a more productive engagement with humanistic disciplines in the face of antibiotic resistance.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/10/1/19virulencepathogenesisantibiotic resistanceanti-virulenceinterdisciplinarity<i>C. diphtheriae</i> |
| spellingShingle | Lorenzo Servitje The Not-So-Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in Antibiotic Research: An Interdisciplinary Opportunity Antibiotics virulence pathogenesis antibiotic resistance anti-virulence interdisciplinarity <i>C. diphtheriae</i> |
| title | The Not-So-Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in Antibiotic Research: An Interdisciplinary Opportunity |
| title_full | The Not-So-Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in Antibiotic Research: An Interdisciplinary Opportunity |
| title_fullStr | The Not-So-Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in Antibiotic Research: An Interdisciplinary Opportunity |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Not-So-Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in Antibiotic Research: An Interdisciplinary Opportunity |
| title_short | The Not-So-Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in Antibiotic Research: An Interdisciplinary Opportunity |
| title_sort | not so strange case of dr jekyll and mr hyde in antibiotic research an interdisciplinary opportunity |
| topic | virulence pathogenesis antibiotic resistance anti-virulence interdisciplinarity <i>C. diphtheriae</i> |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/10/1/19 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT lorenzoservitje thenotsostrangecaseofdrjekyllandmrhydeinantibioticresearchaninterdisciplinaryopportunity AT lorenzoservitje notsostrangecaseofdrjekyllandmrhydeinantibioticresearchaninterdisciplinaryopportunity |