Superbugs

The looming threat of drug-resistant bacteria is usually chalked up to overuse of antibiotics. But now, researchers have found that pharmaceutical compounds that aren’t antibiotic themselves can also contribute to the rise of superbugs, including antidepressants like Prozac.

​Common bacteria living on our skin has raised a red flag for scientists concerned with the rise of superbugs, as research reveals the spread of a new type of drug-resistant infection around the globe, raising the very real possibility that the infections it causes will essentially be untreatable.

With bacteria rapidly evolving resistance to our best antibiotics, scientists are searching high and low for new ones. Researchers have now found that a potent peptide normally used for digestion has strong antimicrobial effects, and could form the base of new drugs.

To avoid a future where once-routine procedures become life-threatening again, new ways to fight bacteria need to be developed. A new study has now shown oxygen can be weaponized against antibiotic-resistant bacteria, by way of nanoparticles activated by light.

Infectious bacteria are becoming increasingly resistant to our best antibiotics. Now researchers at BIDMC have found that combining two antibiotics that no longer work can create a treatment that’s once again effective against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

The increased use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers and disinfectants in hospitals has been incredibly successful in reducing cases of deadly golden staph infections. However, a new study has found that some bacteria are now becoming resistant to these alcohol-based sanitizers.

Researchers from ETH Zurich have found a way to make use of some of the chemical weapons bacteria have developed against each other. In this case, that bacterial battleground is on the surface of thale cress leaves.

Bacteria are evolving resistance to our best antibiotics at an alarming rate, so developing new ones is a crucial area of study. Inspired by a natural molecule, researchers at NC State University have synthesized a new compound that shows promising antibacterial properties against resistant bugs.

The world is in desperate need of new antibiotics, as bacteria continue to evolve and develop resistance to the ones we have. Now, researchers at La Trobe University have found a peptide in the flower of a tobacco plant that could be the first of a new kind of antibiotic.

As if it’s not bad enough that bacteria are increasingly becoming resistant to our best antibiotics, some bugs are even eating the drugs. Scientists have now examined just how the bacteria disarm and consume the antibiotics as food, uncovering new potential ways to fight back against resistance.

Humanity might not go out with a bang, but a sniffle – at least if the terrifyingly-plausible “superbug” scenario comes to pass. But now, researchers at Oxford University have discovered a “genetic catalyst” that lets the bugs develop resistance – and they might be able to switch it off.

In 2015, an exciting new antibiotic called teixobactin was discovered. Now, for the first time, the compound has been successfully synthesized and used to treat a bacterial infection in mice, marking an important milestone in the war against antibiotic-resistant superbugs.