Bacteriological battleground
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Photographs by Getty Images
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This year’s E. coli outbreak sickened more than 3 900 victims and killed 52 people in Europe and North America. Complicating treatment, the rare strain proved resistant to antibiotics. For seven decades, humanity’s primary weapons against harmful bacteria such as certain strains of Escherichia coli have been other organisms. For example, penicillin is naturally produced by a mould that kills bacteria – it introduces a compound that breaks down the harmful microorganism’s cell walls. But, because the targeted bacteria have evolved to defend themselves against naturally occurring antibiotics, researchers are crafting new, lethal synthetic remedies to fight drug-resistant bacteria. – LESTER BLACK
European investigators believe sprouts carried a deadly strain of E. coli.
| Bacteria | Hospitalisations |
| Salmonella | 19 336 |
| Campylobacter | 8 463 |
| T. gondii | 4 428 |
| E. coli O157 | 2 138 |
New weapons of an unseen war
| Proteins | Polymers |
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Lawrence Livermore National Lab Researchers in California have turned E. coli’s internal processes against it. Lead researcher Paul Jackson found that a purified form of lytic protein, used by the bacteria to prick small holes in their own cell walls before multiplying, could become a weapon. “Rather than trying to come up with a (new) pathway, we are looking at the pathways that the bacteria already have,” Jackson says. These proteins are unique to each species, so the purified form will leave nearby cells unharmed. |
Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology Antibiotics often attack bacteria from inside – but survivors can develop resistance. To break this cycle, researchers from IBN and IBM Almaden Research Centre have engineered nanoscale polymers that, like peptides found in the human body, destroy harmful bacteria by damaging cellular walls. “The polymers are emulating our own immune system,” says Jim Hedrick, study co-director. The polymers are biodegradable; once their job is done, the human body naturally expels them. |
