Superbugs

Researchers have derived an antibiotic from microbes living in the sandy soil of North Carolina. Because it works completely differently than others before it, clovibactin might help turn the tide in the battle against today's nastiest superbugs.

Decades of work has paid off, with scientists developing a potent new synthetic molecule that swiftly knocked out 285 strains of bacteria it was tested on, setting it up as a valuable ally in our fight against a looming superbug infection crisis.

We’re losing the arms race against bacteria as they increasingly develop resistance to our best drugs. Now scientists have identified a new class of molecules that disable a major superbug weapon, which could make existing antibiotics effective again.

A novel antibiotic combo has proven promising in a clinical trial for treating an often-deadly form of pneumonia. The experimental drug was found to be at least as effective in preventing death as the current standard, but with far milder side effects.

They look like they don't have a care in the world - and, as far as their health goes, they may not. Scientists believe the raging organism party in their fur makes them infection-resistant, and could be the key to new superbug-fighting antibiotics.

Bacteria are fast developing resistance to our antibiotics, potentially ushering in a new “dark age of medicine” where basic infections become lethal again. Now scientists have developed self-assembling “nanonets” that can trap and kill superbugs.

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.

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.

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are poised to become a major health problem, predicted to claim up to 10 million lives a year by 2050. Researchers have found a new way to fight back, by targeting a protein that bacteria use to generate drug resistance.

Failing antibiotics could lead to a future “dark age of medicine” where once-simple infections become lethal again. Scientists have now found a way to restore antibiotics to their former strength, by repurposing a drug developed to treat Alzheimer’s.

In a significant breakthrough, scientists have pinpointed signs of "pre-resistance" in bacteria for the first time, which they say could allow for better targeted therapies that nip superbugs in the bud before they develop resistance to drugs.

Modern medicine is locked in an arms race against antibiotic-resistant “superbugs.” A new treatment may give us the upper hand again by knocking out enzymes that bacteria use to defend themselves against the drugs.