New Atlas

Medical Audio available

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

Michael Irving June 13, 2019

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 gene known as mcr-3.1 that grants bacteria like Salmonella resistance to "last resort" antibiotics has ...

Medical Audio available

Scientists solve the mystery of hardening arteries, and find solution in a common drug

Rich Haridy June 11, 2019

A landmark study, led by a team of scientists from King’s College London and the University of Cambridge, has described the mechanism responsible for the hardening of arteries. The research also points to a common antibiotic as a potential new treatment to prevent this condition.

Uncovering the mechanism by which calcium deposits accumulte on the walls of arteries could help develop ...

Environment Audio available

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

Rich Haridy May 27, 2019

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 study has found that in over 100 of 700 river samples taken, antibiotic concentrations ...

Medical Audio available

Directed evolution gets bacteria designing new antibiotics for us

Michael Irving May 9, 2019

In the 1990s, the lab of Frances Arnold showed how we can turn evolution to our advantage by manipulating microbes into evolving in a certain way. Now Arnold's team is using the technique to develop new antibiotics.

Caltech researchers are using directed evolution to make bacteria create new antibiotics

Medical

New compound reverses drug resistance in tuberculosis

Michael Irving May 7, 2019

Tuberculosis is currently curable, but the bacteria responsible for it are fast evolving resistance to our antibiotics, thwarting attempts to keep the disease under control. Scientists have found a new compound that can boost the power of existing antibiotics and even reverse the bugs’ resistance.

A new compound could knock out tuberculosis bacteria's resistance to antibiotics

Medical Audio available

One-two punch weakens bacteria's defenses against antibiotics

Michael Irving May 1, 2019

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.

Researchers have found a new way to weaken bacterial defenses against antibiotics

Medical Audio available

Blue light might just take the "super" out of superbugs

Michael Irving April 3, 2019

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.

Researchers have found that shining blue light on antibiotic-resistant bacteria can make them vulnerable to drugs ...

Medical Audio available

Anti-evolution drugs could keep gambling bacteria from developing antibiotic resistance

Michael Irving April 2, 2019

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.

A new study has found that "anti-evolvability" drugs could be a long-term solution against superbugs

Medical Audio available

The superbug-fighting potential of fish slime

Nick Lavars April 1, 2019

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.

Scientists are hailing the mucus that coats fish as a potential goldmine of antibiotics

Medical Audio available

Mighty microgels could make for safer implant surgery

Ben Coxworth March 27, 2019

Although joint replacement surgery typically goes off without a hitch, potentially-dangerous infections can occur after the operation. Scientists from New Jersey's Stevens Institute of Technology are addressing that problem, with a new type of highly-targeted bacteria-killing gel.

The microgels could be applied to implants such as artificial knees or hips