New Antibiotics Fight Infections in a Way Researchers Have never Seen Before! They Trap the Bacteria in Prison!!!

Antibiotic resistance is the microbiologist's nightmare. Ongoing researches are trying to solve this worldwide dilemma.

On February, 12, 2020, a breakthrough study published in the journal Nature found that new group of antibiotics inhibit the action of autolysins, which are pivotal for cell division and growth.

The new group of antibiotics, consisting of corbomycin and complestatin, come from a family of antibiotics known as glycopeptides, which are secreted by soil bacteria.

Other antibiotics, such as penicillins, prevent bacteria from building its cell wall, which is the source of its strength.

These novel antibiotics make the opposite. Instead of preventing building the wall, it stops the cell wall from being broken down. Therefore, inhibiting the breakdown of the wall would render the bacteria impossible to divide and expand. For the sake of simplicity, you can imagine that the bacteria is trapped in prison.

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