Despite all the other stories we link to here, the main theme of this blog has always been antibiotics and how the growing shortage of them will kill us all, our children and our children’s children. Well quite a lot of them. to say nothing of our cats, dogs and other pets. So we bring you stories in dribs and drabs, a step forward here, a step back there, and so it goes.
What we have wanted for some time is a really good summary of where we are now, and what the future may look like. Fortunately Nature, via its superb science news feed Nature Briefings, edited by the incomparable Flora Graham, has provided just that Let’s start with the summary from Briefings
Natural products made by bacteria, small molecules discovered with the help of AI and immune-boosting drugs are just some of the strategies researchers are investigating as new ways to fight bacteria that are increasingly resistant to existing antibiotics. Most conventional antibiotics approved in recent years are simply variants of a known class and can be used for just a few years before resistance emerges. Scientists are turning to new strategies to head off what some are warning could be pandemic caused by once-treatable infections. “We have to run in order to stay in place,” says microbiologist Kim Lewis.Nature | 10 min read
Are you going to click on the link? Because we are-and will read it avidly Because there, in a single, ultra high integrity piece, you will learn about:
-the innovation gap which is slowing the development of new compounds
-how natural products could be employed to widen our available options
-how AI could be used to sharpen research and design
and many other intriguing ways that we could yet overcome this crisis in our affairs. It offers hope, gentle readers. Not only that-maybe you won’t have to read this blog again for six months!
#antibiotics #microbiology #bacteria #antibiotic resistance #medicine #health
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