Whatever else we write about, the problem of microbial antibiotic resistance, is still the raison d’etre of our humble little blog. So while we’re always on the look-out for stories about new antibiotics, new phage techniques, what have you, we sometimes cast our net a bit wider. To bring you news of techniques which, while currently aimed at other problems, offer us the hope that they may one day be relevant to the fight against antibiotic resistance. That thereby potentially help us eke out existing stocks of antibiotics, and maybe even buy us time to develop a few more. Morever, when the pioneer is one of those brave new companies we laud so often, then we are all the more eager. So today we are showcasing the work of UK based GutSee Health. Not because they currently work to replace antibiotics per se: but because they represent a way forward which we think one day might.[1]
At present Gutsee are working on treatments to contend with such intractable problems as Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Inflammatory Bowel Disease. At present these disorders are not primarily treated with antibiotics. But if you examine their website, you will discover the formidable expertise they are developing in applied Artificial Intelligence, microbiome engineering, and phage technologies. Techniques not to replace antibiotics: but to potentially reduce the need for them, thereby conserving them for another day. Look at this from their website, with special attention to the bit which we have emphasised:
…… we are building sophisticated machine learning models to decode phage–bacteria interactions and predict therapeutic responses. This enables us to design targeted interventions that remove harmful or pro-inflammatory microbes—whether in the gut or in wounds*—while preserving healthy ecosystems.
*our emphasis
Wounds, gentle readers. You know that’s where the danger of antibiotic resistance is real: and you know why. Industrial or military wounds are notoriously vulnerable to infection, and antibiotics have long been essential in managing them. But every surgical intervention is really the imposition of a wound, albeit in a good cause, whether to cure appendicitis, deliver a baby by caesarean, transplant a heart-or carry out another of the myriad medical processes which make our lives sustainable at all. We need every possible alternative we have to address these problems, because time is growing short. It is our prediction that the work of GutSee, and many heroic pioneers like them may have a very large role to play. We wish them every possible success.
Coda We couldn’t help thinking that the above is an advertisement for a high education, high pay economy with all the public infrastructure needed to support those things. But that’s for another sort of blog on another day.
# microbial antibiotic resistance #phage #AI #start up #Gutsee #irritable bowel syndrome #health #medicine #sugery #wounds
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