Scientists Discover Possible New Antibiotic in Dirt
Researchers at Rockefeller University analyzed more than 1,000 soil samples taken all over the U.S. and they discovered compounds called malacidins. The study in Nature Microbiology says this family on antibiotics could fight hard-to-treat infections like MRSA.
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Proof of this came from a test conducted on rats infected with MRSA, and the soil’s compounds eliminated the infection in the rats’ skin wounds. According to BBC, drug-resistant diseases claim up to 700,000 lives a year, so researchers are constantly seeking new methods in the antibiotics arms race.