DAIA-the best Christmas present we’ve had for a long time. You too.

We’ve said and said and said it until you lot are fed up. But there are just too many resistant strains of bacteria and not enough antibiotics. That’s why we love this story from Jonathan Chadwick of the Mail about DAIA antibiotics. Yes to risk the oldest cliche in writing, this could be a real breakthrough.

We will let Jonathan tell the story*, backed by Nature*. It’s a good one, with some great pictures. But for us, the highlights were the way that the researchers used their brains. Like this

1 two birds with one stone– The new class is called Dual Acting Immuno Antibiotics for a good reason-they kill the bacteria, and boost your immune system.

2 Canny targetting-they decided to attack a metabolic pathway that is both essential to bacteria, and common to many of them.

3 Use new opportunities-they employed computers to look for a huge range of molecules which would target their chosen weak point (an enzyme) (aren’t we at LSS always pushing for that?-ed)

4 Do your homework- did these guys look at a lot of tough literature before they decided that they knew what they were talking about!

We think the last one is particularly important for those sorts you meet in the pub who get one idea from a journalist or a conspiracy theorist and then think that they know the answers to everything. But why end happy news on a sour note? A Happy Christmas to all our readers. There are reasons to be cheerful.

New antibiotics block an essential pathway in bacteria | Daily Mail Online

IspH inhibitors kill Gram-negative bacteria and mobilize immune clearance | Nature

#daia #antibiotics #antibioticresistance #gramnegative #superbugs

if you want to help develop new antibiotics you can make a real contribution via this charity

Antibiotic Research UK | Fighting Antibiotic Resistance