In this 21st Century Chemist profile, New York University chemist Kent Kirshenbaum explains his work folding long-chain molecules into synthetic molecules called peptoids, that might be developed into, among other things, "hunter-killer" antibiotics that target and destroy lethal drug-resistant bacteria.

In early 2009, doctors in the U.S. notice a doubling in the number of pediatric patients with staph infections that are resistant to antibiotics, from 12% in 2001 to 28% percent in 2006.

Public health officials term it an "emergency" -- the spread of "superbugs," drug-resistant bacteria that can cause lethal staph infections.

This 2007 Scientific American article reports on experiments using short proteins, or peptides, to attack deadly antibiotic-resistant "superbug" bacteria such as staph (MRSA). Source: Scientific American, March 25, 2007.

This NBC Learn video, part of a series on "Chance Discoveries" in chemistry, tells of the lab accident in 1903 that led to the development of the first safety glass -- just as the first automobiles were being produced. Safety glass revolutionized the manufacturing of car windshields, preventing countless injuries and fatalities in automobile accidents.

This 2007 Scientific American article explains that glass is neither a supercooled liquid nor a solid, but in a state between those two states of matter: an amorphous or disorganized solid. Source: Scientific American, February 22, 2007.

Excerpt of 2004 report on lives saved and injuries reduced by vehicle safety standards and safety technologies related to different windshield materials and surfacing. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

This 2011 Scientific American article reports on promising advances in stopping build-up of plaque and loss of synapses in the brain that induces Alzheimer's disease. Source: Scientific American, May 25, 2011.

Bar graph showing estimated number of hospitalizations in the U.S. between 1999 and 2005 related to drug-resistant staph infections (MRSA). Source: Centers for Disease Control, Eili Klei, David L. Smith, and Ramanan Laxminarayan

Line graph showing estimated number of hospital deaths in the the U.S. between 1999 and 2005 related to drug-resistant staph infections (MRSA) and staphylococcus aureus. Source: Centers for Disease Control