Antibiotic-resistant bacteria

By turning modern scientific tools on an antibiotic discovered 70 years ago, researchers have unearthed a previously unknown mechanism it uses to pierce and pop superbugs like balloons, raising new hopes in the fight against drug-resistant bacteria.

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.

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are an urgent public health threat. A new single-dose drug has been developed that works on a different mechanism to most antibiotics, and tests in mice show that it can be used to treat multi-drug-resistant gonorrhea.

Microplastics are increasingly found polluting waterways and causing unknown damage to the health of animals and humans. Now, a new study provides evidence there's cross over with another looming public health threat – antibiotic-resistant superbugs.

Antibiotic-resistant “superbugs" pose a serious public health threat. New antibiotics are needed to turn the tide, but developing them takes time. Now IBM Research has set AI on the task, producing two promising new drug candidates very quickly.

Bacteria are fast evolving resistance to antibiotics, meaning our best drugs could soon stop working entirely. Now researchers have found a way to bypass drug resistance in these so-called superbugs – by distracting them with predatory viruses.

Decades of overuse means bacteria are quickly developing resistance to antibiotics. A new study has found that an FDA-approved drug can act as an "anti-antibiotic,” reducing the development of drug resistance when taken alongside an antibiotic.

Scientists have uncovered a promising new pathway in the development of tuberculosis drugs, describing what they call a newly-discovered “keyhole” that can be targeted to starve tuberculosis-causing bacteria of the sustenance they need to survive.

The growing problem of antibiotic resistance isn’t slowing down, which could soon render our best drugs useless against infection. Now, an existing rheumatoid arthritis drug could be repurposed to cancel bacteria’s resistance to antibiotics.

Fat is best known for being an energy storage system, but it may also play a previously-unknown role in defense against infection. Scientists from the Universities of Queensland and Barcelona have found that cells can use fats to fight off bacteria.

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are poised to become a huge health problem, and we desperately need new treatments. Now, researchers have engineered new antimicrobial molecules from wasp venom, which have shown promise in tests in mice.