superbugs – Impact Lab

Big Problems, Biotech, Healthcare, Hot Issues, Medicine, Science & Technology News

The 12 most dangerous superbugs, ranked by the WHO

March 3, 2017

The World Health Organization says we need to step up the fight against a dozen bacteria that are growing resistant to all the antibiotics we have to treat them.

One of the scariest features of the antibiotic resistance crisis — which has been accelerated by how we overuse these drugs — is that pharmaceutical companies aren’t developing new antibiotics quickly enough. They also often place profits ahead public health when choosing which drugs to develop.

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Health & Fitness, Medical Breakthrough, Nanotechnology, Science & Technology News

Nanotechnology Breakthrough for Antibiotics

April 4, 2011

Nanostructures are introduced to traditional antibiotic drugs they make them much more effective.

Powerful new antibiotics are being developed that act like magnets to destroy bacteria and disease, according to a new study. Researchers from IBM, the computer giant, say they are working on tiny particles known as nanostructures that are attracted to infected cells but do not destroy healthy ones.

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Animals, Health & Fitness, Medical Breakthrough, Science & Technology News

Powerful New Antibiotics from Frog Skin

August 28, 2010

Antibiotics from frog skin could help fight superbugs.

Powerful new antibiotics developed from the skin of frogs could take the fight against superbugs to a higher level. Frog skin is known to have plenty of potent germ-fighting compounds because of the hostile surroundings they inhabit. But these substances are often poisonous to humans. Now a team at the United Arab Emirates University have thought up a way of altering the chemicals to remove their toxicity, the Telegraph reported.

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Analysis, Big Problems, Health & Fitness, Science & Technology News

Disinfectants May Be Fueling Growth of Superbugs

December 28, 2009

Hospital superbugs such as C. difficile and MRSA cause dozens of deaths in hospitals each year

Disinfectants could be fueling the growth of superbugs by training them to be more resistant to antibiotics, a new study suggests. Scientists found that exposing infectious bacteria to increasing amounts of disinfectant turned the bugs into hardy survivors.

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