Researchers at the UC San Diego and University of Groningen have published an open-access article in PLOS Biology that provides proof for a mechanism of collective resistance in microbial communities via intracellular antibiotic deactivation. Deactivation of the antibiotic chloramphenicol by resistant bacteria dropped the overall concentration in the growth medium to the point that non-resistant bacteria began to proliferate and even outcompete resistant cells. Live cell imaging was performed with a Nikon Ti-E inverted research microscope.