Antibiotic-resistant bacteria

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. ​

Bacteria are quickly evolving resistances to antibiotics, to the extent that our best drugs might not work in the terrifyingly-near future. Now, researchers from Thomas Jefferson University have found a new way to weaken bacterial defenses, slowing down the development of antibiotic resistance.

Antibiotics were one of the 20th century's most important scientific discoveries, but their usefulness is quickly fading. Researchers at Purdue University have found that blue light can weaken a particularly nasty “superbug” and make it vulnerable to even mild antiseptics again.

Bacteria are fast evolving resistance to antibiotics. A long term strategy might be to prevent them from evolving in the first place. A new study has found that bacteria use clever gambles to adapt – and showed how we could rig the game in our favor.

​The growing threat of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is seeing scientists get more and more creative in their search for new drugs that might help us maintain the upper hand. Researchers have uncovered what they say is a potential goldmine of antibiotics in the form of fish slime.

Bacteria can share genes with each other to quickly develop resistance to antibiotics. A new genetic study of bacteria from around the world has found that isolated populations share incredibly similar “molecular memories,” suggesting they’re basically flying around the world to spread their genes.

​Humans weren’t built for space travel. The immune system takes a beating, leaving us more vulnerable to infection. Astronauts have now tested a new antimicrobial coating on board the International Space Station (ISS), and found it kept space-faring bugs at bay for well over a year.