The mechanism which allows β-lactam antibiotics, including penicillin, to kill MRSA has been revealed for the first time.
An international team of researchers led by the University of Sheffield discovered that β-lactam antibiotics kill MRSA (Methicillin Resistant S. aureus) by creating holes in the cell wall which enlarge as the cell grows, eventually killing the bacteria.
The growth of these holes leads to failure of the cell wall and death of the bacteria, something which the scientists now plan to exploit in order to create new therapeutics for antibiotic-resistant superbugs. [Read more…] about Antibiotic breakthrough: Scientists finally figure out how penicillin kills bacteria
Related Posts
- 37
- 32A research group at the RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR) has discovered molecular events that determine whether cancer cells live or die. With this knowledge, they found that reduced consumption of a specific protein building block prevents the growth of cells that become cancerous. These findings were published…
- 31Using samples of small cell lung tumours, a research team led by biologist Dr Silvia von Karstedt has discovered two new ways to induce tumour cell death. One of two subsets of tumour cells can be targeted by activating ferroptosis: iron-dependent cell death caused by oxidative stress. In the second…