Researchers have found that an extract from an invasive weed in Florida can disrupt Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteria:
The researchers showed that a refined, flavone-rich composition extracted from the berries inhibits formation of skin lesions in mice infected with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus auereus (MRSA). The compound works not by killing the MRSA bacteria, but by repressing a gene that allows the bacteria cells to communicate with one another. Blocking that communication prevents the cells from taking collective action, a mechanism known as quorum quenching.
"It essentially disarms the MRSA bacteria, preventing it from excreting the toxins it uses as weapons to damage tissues," Quave says. "The body's normal immune system then stands a better chance of healing a wound."
The discovery may hold potential for new ways to treat and prevent antibiotic-resistant infections, a growing international problem. Antibiotic-resistant infections annually cause at least two million illnesses and 23,000 deaths in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The United Nations last year called antibiotic-resistant infections a "fundamental threat" to global health and safety, citing estimates that they cause at least 700,000 deaths each year worldwide, with the potential to grow to 10 million deaths annually by 2050.
Virulence Inhibitors from Brazilian Peppertree Block Quorum Sensing and Abate Dermonecrosis in Skin Infection Models (open, DOI: 10.1038/srep42275) (DX)
(Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday February 11 2017, @08:11PM
#2: Ban people who don't finish their full course of antibiotic treatments.
One way or another, resistance will spread. Nanobots are the answer.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1) by DmT on Saturday February 11 2017, @09:46PM
#3 Ban doctors who subscribe antibiotics against viruses?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 11 2017, @10:46PM
What, does a paper card fall out of the virus, business reply mail, with subscription options?
(Score: 2) by Aiwendil on Sunday February 12 2017, @11:59AM
#2b: s/of/or full replacement course of/
(I found out the hard way I was allergic to one class of antbiotics, I sure as fsck did not complete that course)