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Raking it In

A clam rake is the instrument of choice for MIT-WHOI joint program student Megan May as she hunts for clams at Little Island Beach in Falmouth. May is using genetic techniques to assess the prevalence of antibiotic resistance in bacteria that live inside the clams. Her work could provide greater insight into how human activities are influencing antibiotic resistance in the environment, a phenomena the CDC has called one of the most serious health threats in the U.S., with more than two million people sickened every year with antibiotic-resistant infections.(Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)