Silkworms versus superbugs

By John Parkinson2010-11-01T00:00:00

Source: iLexx/iStock

Strains of potentially lethal bacteria that are resistant to common antibiotics have appeared in hospitals across the globe

Strains of potentially lethal bacteria that are resistant to common antibiotics have appeared in hospitals across the globe in recent decades. The infamous MRSA - methicillin, or multidrug, resistant Staphylococcus aureus - is responsible for several difficult-to-treat infections in humans and is not killed by penicillin or cephalosporin antibiotics. As such, drug researchers are constantly searching for novel chemical structures that can attack MRSA. Recently, a team at Kitasato University in Tokyo, Japan, have used an intriguing method to find such compounds.

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