A study by Caltech researchers has found that drought could fuel the rise of antibiotic-resistant superbugs as climate change worsens. The study found that soil microbes are more likely to survive antibiotics, and some of the genes for resistance in soil-dwelling bacteria found to be present in samples from hospital patients. This could be exacerbated by the rapid transfer of genetic information from soil-inhabiting microbes to humans. The researchers found that antibiotic resistance is driven by evolutionary pressure, with only the toughest, most resistant survive when drought concentrates other microbes' antibiotics to lethal levels. These findings suggest that climate change and drying conditions could exacerbate the already serious issue of antibiotic resistance.