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posted by cmn32480 on Wednesday September 14 2016, @01:14AM   Printer-friendly
from the like-throwing-stars-but-smaller dept.

Tiny, star-shaped molecules are effective at killing bacteria that can no longer be killed by current antibiotics, new research shows.

The study, published today in Nature Microbiology, holds promise for a new treatment method against antibiotic-resistant bacteria (commonly known as superbugs).

The star-shaped structures, are short chains of proteins called 'peptide polymers', and were created by a team from the Melbourne School of Engineering.
...
tests undertaken on red blood cells showed that the star-shaped polymer dosage rate would need to be increased by a factor of greater than 100 to become toxic. The star-shaped peptide polymer is also effective in killing superbugs when tested in animal models.

Furthermore, superbugs showed no signs of resistance against these peptide polymers. The team discovered that their star-shaped peptide polymers can kill bacteria with multiple pathways, unlike most antibiotics which kill with a single pathway.

Let's hope any such molecules are thoroughly vetted with long-term studies before being introduced to medical therapies.


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  • (Score: 2) by q.kontinuum on Wednesday September 14 2016, @07:31AM

    by q.kontinuum (532) on Wednesday September 14 2016, @07:31AM (#401689) Journal

    Well, people do have the right to commit suicide (citation needed, but I found only restrictions reg. assisting in suicide). So, yes, if they thoroughly believe throwing a kitchr-sink at them helps, I beleive they should have that right, too, although society should probably offer psychological help instead.
    The monetization is a different problem. If the industry overstates the chances of the new therapy based on current research, they should be liable.

    Luckily the communist US government doesn't believe in the free market and will happily disown the health industry [archive.org] if it is in the best interest of The People, as was seen in the case of Tamiflu.

    Oh, I forgot. This right is only invoked if the patent is owned by a non-US company and The People are US Americans (google for infringement cases in 3rd world countries, where people die because they can't afford the patented medicine). But since this development was done by the University of Melbourne, we might be lucky :-)

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  • (Score: 2) by edIII on Thursday September 15 2016, @01:00AM

    by edIII (791) on Thursday September 15 2016, @01:00AM (#402086)

    although society should probably offer psychological help instead.

    No. Offering that help only marginalizes the person and states that WE would feel better if they just talked about their pain till actually dying.

    For some terminally ill patients, demanding they speak with a psychiatrist or psychologist before continuing does more to remove their autonomy and dignity then it does to provide them care and choice past a certain point. That kind of care is appropriate when there is hope.

    Note, all of this is when the doctors have thrown up their hands, and you don't even have access to clinical trials. Assisted suicide is indeed a tricky position, but once the doctors have proclaimed they did everything, we need to step away and let the patient decide how they wish to die. Anything else just represents selfishness on our part due the difficult nature of dealing with death, and how we attempt to push it under the rug in America.

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    • (Score: 2) by q.kontinuum on Thursday September 15 2016, @07:17PM

      by q.kontinuum (532) on Thursday September 15 2016, @07:17PM (#402419) Journal

      although society should probably offer psychological help instead.

      No. Offering that help only marginalizes the person and states that WE would feel better if they just talked about their pain till actually dying.

      Well, getting hit by a kitchen sink does not only sound bizarre, but also painful and pointless (because in most cases it might maim the body without being enough to kill). Therefore I think counselling a person who wants to put himself to such a pointless self-maiming is different from counselling someone who just has a severe death-wish. I'd advice the person probably to go for N20 instead, which should provide a painless death. Also, while I think the client should not be obliged to listen to any counselling session, society is obliged to offer them nevertheless.

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      • (Score: 2) by edIII on Thursday September 15 2016, @08:03PM

        by edIII (791) on Thursday September 15 2016, @08:03PM (#402437)

        LOL, I didn't think we were talking about the literal kitchen sink! Sorry, I thought we were still talking in metaphors :)

        Yeah, there should probably be a doctor in the room (or some voice of reason) before snorting drain cleaner or something. I meant when everything is said and done, and the doctors say to make preparations to "leave", that the person should be afforded their dignity and autonomy as much as possible. If you wish to offer the services, which is laudable, my only wish is that it not be mandated as a dependency before receiving assisted suicide. Apologies, I just see that as very similar to forcing a girl to speak with priests and psychologists before receiving an abortion. In those cases the intent to help is far less genuine, and is more about an attempt to bring the girl back into the moral comfort zone of some people. Just the same, when counseling someone that is highly likely to die quite soon, are we counseling them to provide comfort to us, or to them? That's my wish; To recognize that when speaking with them.

        It sounds like we are in agreement anyways, just confused on the metaphors ;)

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