When first used in medicine in the 1940s, penicillin was uniformly effective in killing the bacterium staphylococcus aureus. today, ____________________ has led to an increase in antibiotic-resistant alleles, and humans are increasingly at risk from untreatable staphylococcus aureus infections. a. molecular genetics b. natural selection in staphylococcus aureus populations c. natural selection in human populations d. uncleanliness in hospitals e. the substitution of methicillin for penicillin?