Monday, January 10, 2011

Antibiotics from the Brains of Creepy-Crawlies

Think about this the next time your healthcare provider writes a prescription for an antibiotic — your medication may have been derived from the brain of a cockroach!

Researchers from the University of Nottingham (U.K.) have discovered as many as nine different molecules with powerful antibiotic properties in the brains of cockroaches and locusts which could lead to novel treatments for multi-drug-resistant bacterial infections.

The team of infectious disease scientists has found that the tissues of the brain and nervous system of the insects were able to kill more than 90 per cent of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Escherichia coli — as well as a variety of emerging superbugs, such as Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas and Burkholderia — without harming human cells.

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