Israeli researchers zero in on a protein that viruses use to kill bacteria, holding out hope of a new drug that could treat people infected with deadly resistant strains.
One of the leading causes of preventable death in the developed world is too small to see with the naked eye. This potent threat comes from “superbugs” – strains of bacteria that have morphed into a state of resistance against manmade antibiotics. No sooner is a new drug released than the cunning little microbes find a way to defeat it.
Scientists the world over are searching for the ultimate weapon in this battle that the World Health Organization named one of the three greatest threats to public health. New research out of Israel has revealed a protein made by a bacteriophage, a virus programmed naturally to kill bacteria.
The isolation of this phage protein is a major step toward developing a substitute for conventional antibiotics.
“To stay ahead of bacterial resistance, we have to keep developing new antibiotics,” said Udi Qimron of Tel Aviv University (TAU) medical school’s department of clinical microbiology and immunology, whose research team included Israeli and American scientists. “What we found is a small protein that could serve as a powerful antibiotic in the future.”
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