Antibiotic-resistant bacteria

It's always good if the use of antibiotics can be avoided, to keep harmful bacteria from developing a resistance to them. A new wound-treatment spray could help, as it kills bacteria using peptides that occur naturally in our bodies.

Staphylococcus aureus is a common bacterium in humans, but it can turn nasty. A new clinical trial has shown that a probiotic can selectively cut populations of the bug in humans, reducing the risk of infection without the hazards of antibiotics.

A case study has tracked, for the first time, the movement of antibiotic-resistant bacteria from a patient's gut microbiome to their lungs. The research presents the first direct evidence of this transmission pathway taking place in hospital patients.

Drugs given to the whole body can be too much of a shotgun approach, damaging cells that aren’t meant to be targeted. A new study has found that cloaking drugs inside red blood cells could help guide powerful but toxic antibiotics to target bacteria.

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are common and treatable, but there can be complications, especially when the bacteria become drug resistant. Now, a new drug combo has shown promise in a Phase 3 clinical trial.

The rise of drug-resistant bacteria calls for new approaches to how doctors protect against bone infection after joint replacements, and a potent new form of bone cement is poised to take up the fight.

Scientists have identified a toxin used by bacteria to kill others through a unique mechanism. It's the first found to directly target RNA in what the team describes as “a total assault on the cell,” which could lead to a new class of antibiotics.

Bacteria are fast developing resistance to our best drugs, leaving us poised on the edge of a major health crisis. But a new antibiotic has shown promise against several key “superbugs,” while minimizing damage against good bacteria in the body.

A pair of new studies from researchers in the UK offer a warning to dog owners who frequently feed their pets raw meat. The research indicates pets fed raw meat diets were more likely to harbor antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Scientists at Brown University have developed a new material that can release drugs only when pathogenic bacteria are around. When used as a bandage, the hydrogel could deliver medication on-demand when infection begins to take hold.

Bacteria are great at resisting antibiotics, but they can’t fight tiny drills ripping them open. Researchers have now demonstrated next-generation molecular drills that are activated by blue light and could revolutionize the fight against superbugs.

Algorithms have helped uncover a new antibiotic that shows promise against some nasty bacteria, using a novel mode of attack that should be hard for them to develop resistance to. Most importantly it could unlock a whole new arsenal of antibiotics.