DizkoverA 25-year-old PhD student has found an answer to antibiotic resistant superbugs
@BartZ
September 27, 2016 ● 592 views
September 27, 2016 ● 592 views
Science
via sciencealert.com
Shu Lam, a 25-year-old PhD student at University of Melbourne in Australia, has just come up with a way to fight drug-resistant superbugs without antibiotics. She has developed a star-shaped polymer that can kill six different superbug strains without antibiotics, simply by ripping apart their cell walls.
So how does one leverage this polymer to kill only 1 species of bacteria, and not the other species in our intestines that constitute 70% of our immune systems?
Cryon · 8 years agopermalink · reply (1)
@Cryon: Collateral damage, especially for non-human cells, has always been a present factor when using a systemic antibiotics. Whether this new method will end up being better or worse than current antibiotics in that regard, the expectations, side effects, and follow-up treatment/advice will very likely be similar.
BartZ · 8 years agopermalink · reply