Treating biofilms to an antimicrobial ‘cloak’

Researchers have developed an antimicrobial ‘cloak’ which could play a key role in helping to protect us from the build-up of dangerous microbial biofilms. In their paper published on the 5th of December in Scientific Reports the team found that an agar hydrogel, containing graphene-oxide and laser printed to mimic the shell surface of the … Read more

A living antibiotic?

We may have found a new ally in the fight against antibiotic resistance… though it might not be what you’d expect. Researchers have found exciting evidence to suggest that a predatory bacteria, Bdellovibro bacteriovirus, could be used to deal with dangerous bacterial infections as a ‘living antibiotic’. The study, published on the 23rd November in … Read more

Dangerous genes above Beijing

Polluted air could be a major way for resistance-allowing genes to be spread across bacteria, as researchers have determined using air samples taken from smog in Beijing. Joakim Larsson, director of the University of Gothenburg’s Centre for Antibiotic Resistance Research, and his team analysed 864 DNA samples from a range of human, animal and environmental … Read more

Old enemies, new hope – β-lactams could be used alongside other antibiotics to kill MRSA

Oxacillin, a β-lactam antibiotic, can reduce the virulence of MRSA and open it up to attack from the host immune system and other antibiotics, new research has shown. MRSA (Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus) is one of the most dangerous pathogens affecting the world at the moment, with 20% of infected patients dying from systemic infections … Read more

A new, powerful antimicrobial peptide that can give the immune system a helping hand

A modified antimicrobial peptide has been developed which goes the extra mile: as well as showing activity against a wide range of harmful bacteria, it also backs up the immune system, helping it to deal with infection more effectively. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are short sequences of amino acids, produced across all kingdoms of life, which … Read more

Widely used antiseptic can cause resistance to last-line antibiotic

A research team has found that when the bacteria Klebsiella pneumoniae become resistant to chlorhexidine it can also grant them resistance to colistin, a ‘last-line’ antibiotic. The potential for an organism to become resistant to an antibiotic as a result of its resistance against a biocide has been debated in the past, but this is … Read more

Antibiotic resistance – your new worst enemy?

I’ve got some bad news for you. Something bad is coming. Something really, really, really bad… and it’s coming for you. It’s coming for me, for your friends and family. In fact, it’s coming for everyone on this planet. I’m talking about antimicrobial resistance and it’s going to make us all suffer. Let’s back it … Read more

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