Antibacterial

New weapons against so-called “superbugs” are desperately needed. A new black phosphorus coating quickly kills bacteria and fungi, then dissolves within 24 hours – and best of all, bacteria can’t evolve resistance against this mode of attack.

Bacteria have developed crafty weapons in their ongoing wars, such as tailocins, which act somewhat like “homing missiles” against their enemies. Now, researchers have investigated just how tailocins work, and how we might use them to our advantage.

It may be a bit gross, but mucus plays a key role in our bodies. Now, an MIT team has managed to create an artificial version of the stuff, and shown that it’s an effective antimicrobial – even more so than real mucus.

Although not a huge seller everywhere, durian fruit is consumed in great quantities in countries like Singapore. Scientists there have now developed a method of using its husks to create cheap, eco-friendly, antibacterial hydrogel bandages.

While you might think that dried almonds are one of the "safer" foods, they're actually prone to contamination by harmful bacteria. A simple new process could help keep that from happening, while also boosting their shelf life.

When a patient receives a titanium artificial hip, there's always the risk of an infection developing at the interface between the metal and the bone. A new implant-coating process, however, is intended to greatly reduce that risk.

Just like us, crop plants are subject to bacterial infections. And while antibiotics are often used to kill those microbes, compounds extracted from fly larva fat may prove to be a more eco-friendly alternative.

When bacteria colonize the surface of items such as medical implants, they form antibiotic-resistant coatings known as biofilms. Scientists have devised a new way of removing such films, and it involves magnetically steering augmented tea plant buds.

For some time now, bacteria-killing ozone gas has been used to help heal chronic wounds such as diabetic skin ulcers. Such treatment could soon be a lot more practical and effective, thanks to an experimental new wearable system.

Although it's vitally important to keep wounds free of harmful bacteria, antibacterial ointments have to be regularly reapplied, requiring bandages to be removed. A new wound dressing, however, is claimed to continuously kill bacteria all on its own.

If there's one place where you don't want viruses or harmful bacteria to be present, it's in hospitals, where people are already vulnerable. A new process could help, by allowing aluminum surfaces in such buildings to kill the bugs.

As if it's not enough that fresh produce may sometimes be tainted with bacteria, those microbes can get transferred onto other fruits and veggies, contaminating them too. A new coating, however, has been designed to keep the latter from happening.