Antibiotics lose effectiveness as the bacteria that survive reproduce and are resistant and more resilient to our current antibiotics. While we have the technology to make new antibiotics, this does not happen because the companies that would make them are highly profit driven. Researchers at the University of British Columbia realized that two thirds of all infections are due to bacteria build-up forming a biofilm over human tissue. Researchers also found that the peptide 1018 is able to not only destroy these infection-causing biofilms, but prevent them from forming in the future. After further trials, it was found that 1018 works on both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria, as well as against several antibiotic resistant pathogens.
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Collaboration: A team of researchers at the University of British Columbia worked on this
Repeatability: They repeated the use of the peptide on gram-negative, gram-positive, and other resistant pathogens
Evidence: Their results clearly state that the peptide is effective
It is definitely becoming an increasing problem that our health care companies are so profit driven. It is great that we were able to find how bacteria usually attack but what happens when they adapt to this change? We should start giving subsidies to companies that are willing to research these new problems as to give them a reason to advance medical science.
ReplyDeleteThis is a growing problem and it will be interesting to see if doctors will implement this new peptide. I learned that the biofilm is what causes most of the bacterial infections.
ReplyDeleteThere is a growing problem with bacteria becoming immune to the anti-biotics that are available today, and companies not wanting to make anything new to help fight the new resistant strains of bacteria. Do the scientist know how cost affective this new peptide will be, and if there are companies willing to produce it to help people get over the diseases caused by bacterial biofilm.
ReplyDeleteAntibiotics becoming less effective with more use is a huge problem. I think there should be more regulations in terms of antibiotics and the companies who produce them. We should also have more scientists researching a solution to this problem, as a loss of antibiotics would be a total disaster for society.
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