Jeff Gore, 2011 Pew Biomedical Scholar, studies how bacteria develop resistance to antibiotics. Photo courtesy of The Pew Charitable Trusts

Outsmarting Superbugs, Biology's Bad Pennies'

Jeff Gore named Pew's biomedical researcher of the month.

Pew biomedical scholar Jeff Gore spends most of his time trying to figure out how bacteria develop resistance to antibiotics, targeting the “superbugs” that threaten human health and the advances of the antibiotic era. But in his spare time, he has another target in his sights: the lowly U.S. penny. 

Gore, the recipient of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Pappalardo Fellowship in Physics, is also the founder of Citizens to Retire the U.S. Penny. He has proved that the cost to produce each penny is more than the coin is worth, and he even appeared on Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report” to advocate for an end to penny production.  [MIT News Office, 12.11.13]