Preserve the Power – taking the fight against antimicrobial resistance to the big screen

Attention, movie fans and aspiring filmmakers of Australia – a generous cash prize is on offer for the winners of a national short film competition, called ‘Preserve the Power’. The contest, created in partnership between NPS MedicineWise and American Express Openair Cinemas, is intended to spread awareness about the danger of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Each … Read more

The Mla pathway – a potential Achilles heel for gram-negative bacteria?

Researchers from the University of California San Diego have identified a potential new target against Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections – which could be applied to help treat all gram-negative infections. It was found that by interfering with the Mla pathway in P. aeruginosa, the bacteria became more permeable, and more susceptible to immune components. P. aeruginosa, … Read more

WHO’s Essential Medicine List updated, with new guidelines on how antibiotics should used

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has updated their Essential Medicines List (EML), adding 10 new antibiotics which should be used in adults, and 12 for children. In addition, they’ve also decided to try a new approach to combat antibiotic resistant bacteria by dividing antibiotics into three different categories; access, watch and reserve. It’s hoped that … Read more

A triple modified form of vancomycin boosts the drug’s antibacterial power

A modified form of vancomycin gives the drug key advantages which could greatly boost its efficiency against dangerous bacteria and reduce the chances of resistant strains developing, new research shows. The study, conducted by scientists from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) in the US, was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of … Read more

Saving your eyesight: New research suggests chlorin e6 could protect against bacterial keratitis

A structure known as chlorin e6 (Ce6) could be used in photodynamic inactivation (PDI) therapy to protect patient’s eyes from the dangerous effects of Pseudomonas aeruginosa keratitis, new research has shown. The paper, which was published on 15th March 2017 in Nature Scientific Reports, showed that when the eyes of mice were infected with multi-drug … Read more

Nursing homes rarely use isolation precautions against multi-drug resistant infections, a recent study shows

Nursing homes may be infrequently applying isolation precautions to prevent the spread of infections caused by multi-drug resistant organisms (MDRO), a recent study suggests. The study, which was published on the 17th February 2017 in The Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, was carried out at Columbia University School of Nursing in an attempt to … Read more

WHO produces a list of the 12 most dangerous bacteria

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has published a list of the 12 bacterial families against which new antibiotics are desperately needed. Unveiling the list on the 27th February 2017, WHO hopes that this list will spur the research and development of new antibiotics at a time when the drugs we’ve come to rely on to … 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

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