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posted by Fnord666 on Wednesday March 22 2017, @07:03PM   Printer-friendly
from the bacterial-predator-list dept.

Antibiotic resistance is one of medicine's most pressing problems. Now, a team from Korea is tackling this in a unique way: using bacteria to fight bacteria.

Before the discovery of penicillin in 1928, millions of lives were lost to relatively simple microbial infections. Since then, antibiotics have transformed modern medicine. The World Health Organization estimates that, on average, antibiotics add 20 years to each person's life. However, the overuse of antibiotics has put pressure on bacteria to evolve resistance against these drugs, leading to the emergence of untreatable superbugs.

Now, researchers at South Korea's Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) aim to fight fire with fire by launching predatory bacteria capable of attacking other bacteria without harming human cells. "Bacteria eating bacteria. How cool is that?" asks Professor Robert Mitchell, the team leader. He and his colleagues are also developing a natural compound called violacein to tackle Staphylococcus, a group of around 30 different bacteria known to cause skin infections, pneumonia and blood poisoning. Some Staphylococcus bacteria such as MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) are resistant to antibiotics, making infections harder to treat.

Violacein is a so-called 'bisindole': a metabolite produced by bacteria from the condensation of two molecules of tryptophan (an essential amino acid used in many organisms to ensure normal functioning and avoid illness and death). This compound is vibrant purple in colour and of interest to researchers for its anticancer, antifungal and antiviral properties. Researchers have discovered that it can stop bacteria from reproducing, and even kill the multidrug resistant bacterium Staphylococcus aureus, when used in the right doses. It also works well in conjunction with other existing antibiotics.

Previously on SoylentNews: Predatory Bacteria could be a New Weapon Against Superbugs


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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by rts008 on Wednesday March 22 2017, @07:48PM (1 child)

    by rts008 (3001) on Wednesday March 22 2017, @07:48PM (#482910)

    The 'Phage', for some reason popped into my head upon reading this.

    Hopefully all will go as expected. If not, some of you are probably screwed.(even if it goes horribly wrong, at 60, I doubt I would live long enough for it to be anything more than yet another sad piece in the news for me)

    It has occurred to me that we may be in that era that is portrayed in sci-fi, where a civilization knows just enough about [insert favorite tech here] to be dangerous, and then comedy ensues.

    "KHHAAAAAANNN!!!!"

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 22 2017, @08:04PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 22 2017, @08:04PM (#482913)

    We are 100% already there! For the sci-fi reference: Beta radiation [youtube.com]
    Queue pretty much every other problem we've had due to our technology.