Researchers Uncover Potent New Antibiotics Within The Soil

[Fanghawk]

Researchers Uncover Potent New Antibiotics Within The Soil

Scientists at Northeastern University in Boston were conducting experiments with soil bacteria, and may have discovered the next great antibiotic in the process.

If you pay attention to health issues, you may have read that <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/135708-10-Million-Pound-Prize-Offered-to-Address-Antibiotic-Resistance>we're facing a big problem with antibiotics. Specifically, the more we use them, the more resistant bacteria becomes, until the antibiotic isn't really helpful anymore. And considering that something we take for granted, like penicillin, saves countless lives each year, losing our ability to offer antibiotics could become a huge problem. Thankfully, <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/126457-New-Antibiotic-Proves-Effective-Against-Superbugs>scientists are working to resolve the issue, and may have a potent new antibiotic to keep germs at bay. And of course, like many great achievements in science, the discovery was the side effect of working on something else entirely.

It all started when a team from Northeastern University in Boston conducted attempted to grow bacteria in the lab that had never been grown before. "The majority of bacteria on this planet are 'uncultured,' meaning they don't grow on our petri dishes," Northeastern's Kim Lewis explained. "And when I'm talking about 'the majority,' it is 99 percent." To achieve this, the researchers built an apparatus that holds bacteria-rich soil between two membranes, where the bacteria can grow before being retrieved and carried into the lab.

This is already all well and good for any researcher specializing in bacteria, but then Lewis started looking for compounds that could act as an antibiotic. They found two dozen, one of which could a be a great contender for a future penicillin. It's called teixobactin, and not only does it cure mice of skin, thigh, and lung infections, it does so without any recorded resistance.

In human speak? Teixobactin is something diseases can't fight against so far. "This for all practical purposes may be a largely resistance-free compound," Lewis confirmed.

We can't say goodbye to superbugs just yet, as teixobactin needs to be tested in humans before it can be used as a treatment. But even if that doesn't pan out, it seems there are all kinds of otherwise inaccessible bacteria Lewis has could draw upon that make the difference. All because some researchers decided to see what new kinds of bacteria were in the soil. Not bad, science. Not bad.

Source: <a href=http://www.nature.com/articles/nature14098.epdf?referrer_access_token=O3UA5m5EwOsscrOmk6okONRgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0PvwA6rMMnycnymQk5ZOpb5ktLjj6cTh7j_4Otw8h3aTGyPoqsqxGJxl5fdADGU-gCCEAr1nyTgoxJPchADd3mF>Nature, via <a href=http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2015/01/07/375616162/compound-from-soil-bacteria-may-help-fight-dangerous-germs>NPR

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[Veldel]

Yeah and when every disease mutates and evolves from this what we do then? Hope for some new cure.

 

[Eric the Orange]

Yeah and when every disease mutates and evolves from this what we do then? Hope for some new cure.

So are you saying we shouldn't use this because it will some day not work?

 

[FalloutJack]

Yeah and when every disease mutates and evolves from this what we do then? Hope for some new cure.

Closed thinking. Everything evolves, both us and them. No reason to stop working at it unless you want to be infected.

 

[Veldel]

Yeah and when every disease mutates and evolves from this what we do then? Hope for some new cure.

Closed thinking. Everything evolves, both us and them. No reason to stop working at it unless you want to be infected.

not really closed just posing a question as why don't we try to strengthen and make immune systems stronger then relying on antibiotics.

I use almost no meds or anything and last doctor checkup I had was 8 years ago and dispite that I've only been sick like twice. Even when I worked retail.

I'm not hygienic by any means I eat food if it falls on floor and never wash my hands.

 

[FalloutJack]

Yeah and when every disease mutates and evolves from this what we do then? Hope for some new cure.

Closed thinking. Everything evolves, both us and them. No reason to stop working at it unless you want to be infected.

not really closed just posing a question as why don't we try to strengthen and make immune systems stronger then relying on antibiotics.

I use almost no meds or anything and last doctor checkup I had was 8 years ago and dispite that I've only been sick like twice. Even when I worked retail.

I'm not hygienic by any means I eat food if it falls on floor and never wash my hands.

Your personal experiences do not cover the whole of humanity. You live in the US. That would kill you in other countries. I don't use medication either, but I'll take my flu shots anyway. They're free and they help, not harm. Besides, you're commenting about one field. How do you know there isn't research into the one you want as well?

 

[Fox12]

Yeah and when every disease mutates and evolves from this what we do then? Hope for some new cure.

Closed thinking. Everything evolves, both us and them. No reason to stop working at it unless you want to be infected.

not really closed just posing a question as why don't we try to strengthen and make immune systems stronger then relying on antibiotics.

I use almost no meds or anything and last doctor checkup I had was 8 years ago and dispite that I've only been sick like twice. Even when I worked retail.

I'm not hygienic by any means I eat food if it falls on floor and never wash my hands.

Because, prior to antibiotics, thousands of people died that could have been saved every year. If you've avoided needing antibiotics then that's wonderful, I hope you remain strong and healthy. Not everyone has that luxury, however, and we need to bare that in mind. This isn't a permanent solution, but it's a useful until we find something better.

 

[BoogieManFL]

Evolution is a long drawn out arms race. Have to keep pace, or get left behind forever.

Yeah and when every disease mutates and evolves from this what we do then? Hope for some new cure.

Evolution is a long drawn out arms race. Have to keep pace, or get left behind forever.

 

[Buzz Killington_v1legacy]

I use almost no meds or anything and last doctor checkup I had was 8 years ago and dispite that I've only been sick like twice.

Every time someone trots this "argument" out, I check their profile because I'm pretty sure they're under thirty.

I haven't been wrong yet.

 

[lacktheknack]

Yeah and when every disease mutates and evolves from this what we do then? Hope for some new cure.

Closed thinking. Everything evolves, both us and them. No reason to stop working at it unless you want to be infected.

not really closed just posing a question as why don't we try to strengthen and make immune systems stronger then relying on antibiotics.

I use almost no meds or anything and last doctor checkup I had was 8 years ago and dispite that I've only been sick like twice. Even when I worked retail.

I'm not hygienic by any means I eat food if it falls on floor and never wash my hands.

I, too, advocate for strengthening of immune system, eat floor food, and think we're overmedicating. I am never sick beyond the occasional seasonal cold.

Three weeks ago, I was fed food contaminated by river water in a small Cambodian village. The resulting stomach infection flattened me for over a week. Not only did I throw up many, many times (and with such force that I nearly dislocated my jaw and burst a blood vessel in my eye), but between my dehydration (I threw up any water I drank) and complete malnutrition (I couldn't even down rice half the time), I lost 35 pounds in less than two weeks (that accounts for fat loss, bone loss, muscle loss and water loss). I'm sure someone's going to tell me I'm lying and that it's impossible to do that, but too bad, it happened. I really could have died.

Know what stopped it and let me actually eat, drink and recover? An antibiotic.

 

[small]

its not just eating food and getting a chest infection, etc that are the issue, id really prefer to avoid the days of needing minor surgery and knowing ill have a 50/50 chance of getting an infection that could kill me

 

[Gustavos]

I, too, immediately felt that this advancement would be temporary like the rest, but then we don't know that quite yet. Furthermore, if there's another potentially deadly disease that springs up in the near future, it's nice to know that its victims have a new weapon in their arsenal.

But yeah, the advancement I'm hoping for is stronger immune systems in humans and other creatures. Maybe something involving nanobots. The kind that can be reprogrammed to attack people from the inside. I need that kind of danger in my life.

 

[Vendor-Lazarus]

New antibiotics are great, since we really don't want to (further) create super-bugs.
I'm all for it.

However, I do feel that people take cleanliness and hygienic things way too far. Waaay too far.
I could simply ask you (general you) how many times a day you shower..or point out the "cleanliness is next to godliness" approach many take.
How are people supposed to develop an effective immune-system without having them go to war every now and then.
Flu-shots are indeed one way for them to train, but on a completely inert and basically defenseless enemy.

I'm not going to rant on any further, so I'll end this by saying that the hygienic approach has it's place.
Hospitals, food-stuff, etc. Anywhere people are at extra risk or have a lowered immune-system.
Not in everyday life.

 

[FalloutJack]

Wharf

Jesus, Knack! That must've been horrible!

(For those of you at home, here's a comforting thought: Your body will eat itelf when malnourished. Yes, even bone matter. And they tell you "Don't drink the water" for a reason, as even the clean water to a foreign system can cause problems at times. Lacktheknack's account of things is frighteningly accurate.)

 

[animeh1star1a]

Yeah and when every disease mutates and evolves from this what we do then? Hope for some new cure.

So are you saying we shouldn't use this because it will some day not work?

actually, yes... kinda. The idea you need to adapt is cycling antibiotics and use them only in extreme cases. For example, all antibacterial hand soaps (outside of hospitals and universities/research centers) need to disappear, antibiotics should not be fed to farm animals to encourage weight gain, and antibiotics need to be used more sparingly while people are educated on when antibiotic use is appropriate (some people still insist on antibiotics for the flu, for example).

We aren't just making them immune to one antibiotic, btw, but rather increases the chances that they can beat other antibiotics as well. It can get to a point (and has, especially in india) where the bacteria can be resistant to one anitbiotic and piggyback that resistance on to other drugs, until it's completely resilient and cannot be killed by any medicine we currently have. Look up Superbugs... That is the actually medical terminology for a strain of bacteria that is completely resistant to antibiotics.

 

[lacktheknack]

Wharf

Jesus, Knack! That must've been horrible!

(For those of you at home, here's a comforting thought: Your body will eat itelf when malnourished. Yes, even bone matter. And they tell you "Don't drink the water" for a reason, as even the clean water to a foreign system can cause problems at times. Lacktheknack's account of things is frighteningly accurate.)

Took a week to get me to a clinic. Getting into a sick bed with IV for seven hours and actually re-hydrating was one of the best moments of my life.

I've never been sick like that before, and hopefully never will again. WOO ANTIBIOTICS.

 

[RicoADF]

Took a week to get me to a clinic. Getting into a sick bed with IV for seven hours and actually re-hydrating was one of the best moments of my life.

I've never been sick like that before, and hopefully never will again. WOO ANTIBIOTICS.

Good to hear you recovered, also an example of antibiotics used correctly and when needed.

 

[Strazdas]

Yeah and when every disease mutates and evolves from this what we do then? Hope for some new cure.

maybe we shouldnt have cured smallpox either becasue after all what if it mutates?

I use almost no meds or anything and last doctor checkup I had was 8 years ago and dispite that I've only been sick like twice. Even when I worked retail.

I'm not hygienic by any means I eat food if it falls on floor and never wash my hands.

you should get a checkup. no. seriuosly. there is no harm in checking up whether you are actually healthy or is your body compensating because its still young. Having healthy dose of bacteries for your immune system to train is good. having a chance to avoid another black plague is good as well. we can have both.

Flu-shots are indeed one way for them to train, but on a completely inert and basically defenseless enemy.

Not anymore! Vaccine shots used to be insertion of dead enemies so your body knows how they look and dont shoot their ofwn foot thinking its the enemy. Modern vaccines however insert actual living diseases that are coated in immune system parts that already know how to fight it. think of it more of getting that war hero come and bring some target practice prisoners with him for you to train on.

That however opens a new venue for vaccine failure. There was a flu shot that after taking i had the worst flu i ever had. turns out the vaccine was recalled couple days after i took the shot because i wasnt the only one with this result. It being flu - i lived through it. though i wonder what would happen if you had something like hepatitis B shot with 50% of people ending up getting an aggressive form of disease instead.

 

[Lightknight]

Yeah and when every disease mutates and evolves from this what we do then? Hope for some new cure.

First off, this is one of the first forays into uncultured bacteria and already we've found a couple dozen antibacterial candidates. My guess is that we've got a pretty decent shot if this pans out. We have at our disposal an opportunity not to get just one or two antibiotics, but thousands if not hundreds of thousands depending on how many are safe to humans but harmful to disease causing bacteria.

One of the things I stressed when reporting this article to the Escapist (if they even read my "Tip"), is that this works by attaching itself to the parts of the cell walls of bacteria that don't mutate. The reason why bacteria becomes resistant so relatively quickly to current antibiotics is because current antibiotics attach to mutating parts of that bacteria which mutate so rapidly as to basically be ultra-fast evolution. Well, the parts that don't mutate? That's going to take significantly longer to change and by then we may be engineering our own antibacteria that would be able to compensate. Once the bacteria evolves to fend off one thing it may again become susceptible to a previous anti-biotic it had become immune to. Eventually we'll have something like fire. Sure, humans could potentially evolve to survive being set on fire for hours, but the evolutionary changes are too great to do us any good and evolution is generally quite incremental. Single mutations that benefit one human over others will likely benefit them in only seconds rather than permanent immunity and so that mutation is lost right along any others with no advantage in reproduction because survival still isn't achieved.

The future of antibiotics will be a cocktail of some sort. Perhaps randomized with one or two core types to address the sickness at hand. As the number of possible antibiotics increase, the permutations of what a virus have to be able to survive increase exponentially. Basically, we will achieve a kill-all scenario if we find enough types to use. My only hope is that we are able to recognize whether or not the anti-biotics are killing off good bacteria and whether or not that matters.

But there are other things to consider in the mean time. This antibiotic that has passed lab tests (mice), it kills mrsa, something that has forms we currently cannot kill and that will eventually end the life of everyone that has it. It is worth developing if only for the diseases that already exist that are invulnerable to everything we've got. The problem isn't bacteria's resistance to the few antibiotics we've got, the problem is how few antibiotics we've got and that we haven't really developed a new one since what, the 90's?