For this week’s #TOTW I turn to a subject that i’ve mentioned many times in tweets and retweets, namely that of antibiotics and antimicrobial resistance:
#Antibiotics: US discovery labelled ‘game-changer’ for #medicine #AntimicrobialResistance @bbchealth @longitude_prize http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-30657486 …
The most promising of a number of possible new antibiotics discovered is that called teixobactin. These new antibiotics have been produced in a so-called “subterranean hotel,” and “could be a game-changer,’ states Professor Laura Piddock from the University of Birmingham.
According to analysis by James Gallagher, the health editor for BBC News website, “It works on only Gram-positive bacteria; this includes MRSA and mycobacterium tuberculosis. It cannot penetrate the extra layer of protection in Gram-negative bacteria such as E. coli.”
Even given the possible limitations of teixobactin, and the fact that human trials have still to take place, the fact that there is the very possibility of a new class of antibiotics has to be exciting news, given the current “crisis” of antimicrobial resistance due to the over-prescription of many antibiotics.
Check out the link for some interesting graphics and information on the timeline of antibiotic discoveries!
radiographerben 