Chemical synthesis yields potential antibiotic
A new strategy for producing a natural compound could also be used to generate variants with even stronger antimicrobial activity.
Protein structure offers clues to drug-resistance mechanism
A new study sheds light on how a protein pumps toxic molecules out of bacterial cells.
2021-22 Takeda Fellows: Leaning on AI to advance medicine for humans
New fellows are working on electronic health record algorithms, remote sensing data related to environmental health, and neural networks for the development of antibiotics.
Illuminating the history and global story of antibiotics
HASTS PhD student Rijul Kochhar tracks changing medical and microbial realities, and examines what they portend for society.
Metabolic mutations help bacteria resist drug treatment
Study suggests forcing bacteria to burn more energy could make them more susceptible to antibiotics.
SMART researchers use lysins to selectively target bacteria
The discovery can help to cure bacterial infections without inducing resistance or causing harm to good bacteria.
Algorithm reduces use of riskier antibiotics for UTIs
Machine learning model predicts probability that a particular urinary tract infection can be treated by specific antibiotics.
3 Questions: Ram Sasisekharan on hastening vaccines and treatments
Biological engineer discusses condensing the time taken to develop therapeutics down from many years to a matter of months.
Regina Barzilay wins $1M Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence Squirrel AI award
MIT professor announced as award’s first recipient for work in cancer diagnosis and drug synthesis.
Making tuberculosis more susceptible to antibiotics
Shortening carbohydrates in the bacterial cell wall makes them more vulnerable to certain drugs.
A new way to make bacteria more sensitive to antibiotics
SMART researchers find exposing bacteria to hydrogen sulfide can increase antimicrobial sensitivity in bacteria that do not produce H2S.
How often do vaccine trials hit paydirt?
Study: Vaccines find more success in development than any other kind of drug, but have been relatively neglected in recent decades.
SMART researchers uncover new anti-phage defense mechanisms
Discovery explains why some bacteria have been able to defend against phage therapy, opens new ways to overcome existing challenges.
Jim Collins receives funding to harness AI for drug discovery
The Audacious Project commitment will support the development of new classes of antibiotics to treat the world’s deadliest bacterial pathogens.
Professor Emeritus Arnold Demain, a pioneer in the development of antibiotics, dies at 92
An eminent microbiologist, Demain conducted groundbreaking antibiotics research and mentored hundreds of young scientists.