Antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Scientists have studied the toxic weapons of bacterial warfare to find new ways to combat rising antibiotic resistance

Biology

Bacterial "poison crossbow" could help fight superbugs

Researchers have analyzed a weapon that bacteria use to kill each other – a toxic "crossbow bolt" – which could inspire new antibiotics.

Scientists have uncovered what they say is the first direct evidence of bacteria switching shapes and shedding their cell walls to evade antibiotics

Medical

Bacteria caught changing shape to evade antibiotics

For the first time, scientists in Australia have observed bacteria shedding their protective shells and changing shape to escape detection by antibiotics.

An antioxidant known as EGCG was found to enhance the ability of a common antibiotic in attacking an antibiotic resistant bacteria

Medical

Green tea compound helps antibiotic kill resistant bacteria

A new study has discovered administering an antibiotic with a specific compound found in green tea can effectively kill a notoriously antibiotic resistant bacteria.

Researchers examine a dolphin during the superbug tests

Environment

Dolphins found harboring antibiotic-resistant superbugs

A new long-term study has found high levels of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in wild dolphins, with rates growing over the last decade.

Caption: a new vaccine could help keep a hypervirulent superbug at bay

Medical

Vaccine shows promise against hypervirulent superbug

Deadly, drug-resistant forms of K. pneumoniae bacteria are spreading. Thankfully a new vaccine has shown promise in tests on mice.

Researchers have discovered how a nasty strain of bacteria blocks antibiotics

Medical

Scientists find how one superbug locks antibiotics out

Researchers at Imperial College London have found that a high-priority superbug resists drugs by closing its pores.

Scientists studying the genes of superbugs have discovered "unexpected chinks in the armor"

Medical

Genetic study reveals easily-exploitable "chinks in the armor" of MRSA superbugs

Humans are currently locked in an arms race against pathogenic bacteria – and we’re losing. Now scientists have identified the genes responsible for antibiotic resistance in a particularly dangerous superbug, and found a way to thwart them.

Early results suggest a novel CBD formulation may be effective in treating bacterial skin infections

Medical

CBD shows promise as potent topical antibiotic, killing resistant superbugs

New research presented at the the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology has demonstrated a novel topical formation containing cannabidiol (CBD) is effective at killing bacterial infections in the skin. The formulation was also found to kill certain antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

A gene known as mcr-3.1 that grants bacteria like Salmonella resistance to "last resort" antibiotics has been detected in a patient in the US

Medical

Superbug gene that resists "last resort" antibiotics detected in US for the first time

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria might also be one of the biggest medical issues of the 21st century. Now, a bacterial gene that grants resistance to “last resort” antibiotics has been detected in a patient in the US, for the first time.

A new study has found that in over 100 of 700 river samples taken, antibiotic concentrations were at levels exceeding safe concentrations, with the Danube found to be the most contaminated river in Europe

Environment

Antibiotics found in world's rivers at levels up to 300 times above safe levels

In a huge global study hundreds of rivers around the world have been tested for levels of common antibiotics. It found 65 percent of all samples contained some concentration of antibiotics, with the worst cases showing levels more than 300 times higher than the generally accepted safe threshold.

Three bacteriophages, or bacteria-eating viruses, were administered to the young patient suffering from a major antibiotic-resistant infection following lung transplant surgery

Medical

World-first human treatment of antibiotic-resistant infection with genetically modified virus

A new case study outlines the first use of a genetically modified virus to treat a life-threatening antibiotic-resistant bacterial infection. The successful treatment paves the way for larger clinical trials to establish how effective this experimental process could be in wider patient populations.

Graphic depicting the newly discovered mcr-9 gene

Medical

Newly discovered "jumping" superbug gene threatens last-resort antibiotic

The latest newly uncovered threat in the world of superbugs comes from scientists at Cornell University, who have discovered a previously unknown gene that can leap between organisms to facilitate resistance to an important last-resort antibiotic.