Washing your hands reduces your risk of transmitting and contracting harmful bacteria from other people and the environment.
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Bacterial infections are a growing global challenge. This is due to antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and researchers are turning to AI to develop new drugs.
Most antibiotics work by killing bacteria. But this also helps them to become resistant. If we render bacteria harmless to us, rather than kill them, it’s a win-win.
Around 75% of antibiotics, including penicillin and amphotericin B, are derived from natural products.
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With the dual threats of antibiotic resistance and emerging pandemics, finding new drugs becomes even more urgent. A trove of medicines may be lying under our nose.
Limpets had the highest concentrations of chemical compounds compared to other marine organisms studied.
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Antimicrobial resistance disproportionately affects the world’s poorest and most vulnerable populations in low- and middle-income countries.
Canadian doctors don’t have easy access to newer antibiotics, and must prescribe older, generic treatments that are increasingly ineffective due to resistance.
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Claire Guinat, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich; Etthel Windels, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, and Sarah Nadeau, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich
After a nose swab tests positive for a virus or bacteria, scientists can use the sample’s genetic sequence to figure out where and when the pathogen emerged and how fast it’s changing.
When COVID-19 emerged, misuse of antibiotics increased.
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The quest to find treatment for COVID-19, and the uncertainty surrounding the clinical outcome, necessitates the use of antibiotics in the treatment package.
If no action is taken to address antibiotic resistance, infections from multidrug-resistant bacteria could cause 10 million deaths each year by 2050.
Bacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria and play a potential role in the evolution of life.
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Ivan Erill, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Viruses have gotten a bad rap for the many illnesses and pandemics they’ve caused. But viruses are also genetic innovators – and possibly the pioneers of using DNA as the genetic blueprint of life.
Penicillin originally came from a fungus, and with thousands of fungi to explore, Aotearoa New Zealand has a potential treasure trove of bacteria-killing compounds.