Ant-ibiotics: How Ants Treat Infections
Matabele ants of sub-Saharan Africa are the only other known species to recognize infections and be able to use antibiotics for treatment.
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We Can Beat Antibiotic-Resistant Microbes
Untreatable no longer! Scientists at the Wistar Institute have discovered a way to combat antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections.
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New Ways to Reduce Antibiotics in Food Animals by 2030
By Neha Jain @lifesciexplore In a new study, researchers in the United States and Europe propose three measures—capping antibiotic use in farm animals, imposing a fee for veterinary use of antibiotics, and limiting meat intake—that, together, can reduce the use of antibiotics in food animals by up to 80 percent by 2030. Antibiotic resistance results from antibiotics overuse Overuse of antibiotics, particularly in animals for food, is the main cause of the spread of resistance whereby antibiotics lose their effectiveness, and infections become untreatable, leading to what many scientists call…
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Stopping Bacteria from Stealing Our Iron
Many pathogenic bacteria use “stealth siderophores” to steal iron from humans. Find out how scientists are stopping bacteria from stealing our iron. By Ada Hagan As we discussed last time, bacteria that infect the human body face a major challenge, iron, which is essential for bacterial growth, is hard to obtain from human tissues. Many pathogenic bacteria solve this problem by deploying “stealth siderophores,” which steal iron from human iron-binding proteins while evading our defenses. In the battle between humans and pathogenic bacteria, our best weapons—antibiotics—are being weakened by widespread…
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New Antibiotic Discovered Up Your Nose
By Michelle Kuepper While concerns continue to build around the increase in drug-resistant germs, and researchers look for alternatives to antibiotics, one team has isolated a bacterium inside the human nose that works as an antibiotic against Staph infections. Biologists have discovered that a bacterium found in the human nose can produce antibiotics to destroy Staphyloccus aureus (Staph), a bacterium that causes many conditions including Toxic Shock Syndrom, skin infections and food poisoning. The researchers behind the Nature study found that the antibiotic, which they named Lugdunin, is so powerful it can even kill…
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Environmental Contaminants Add to Antibiotic Resistance
Are you concerned about overuse of antibiotics leading to antibiotic-resistant bacteria? Industrial waste may be another trigger for antibiotic resistance.
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Searching for Alternatives to Antibiotics
As bacteria mutate and become increasingly resistant to our arsenal of antibiotics, scientists try to find alternatives to antibiotics.
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