Thursday, April 28, 2005

 

"Inner Workings of Bacteria"

Scientists have discovered how bacteria build an outer protective membrane to keep alive while under attack by antibiotics. An example of creative "table turning," this research is noteworthy because:
“Many scientists study bacteria to better understand and to improve
antibiotics, but this research does the opposite — it uses antibiotics to probe
the inner workings of bacteria,” said Bert Shapiro, a cell biologist at the
National Institute of General Medical Sciences, which supported the work. “A
deeper understanding of the biochemical pathways in bacteria, such as that
provided by this research, could in turn lead to new classes of antibiotics.
Then the research will have come full circle.”



<< Home

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?