The iChip houses growing microorganisms, using semi-permeable membranes (shown as circles) on each side of the plate. After adding agar nutrient, it is placed in the soil from which the sample originated. (Credit: Losee L. Ling et al./Nature)
Northeastern University researchers have discovered an antibiotic called “teixobactin” that eliminates pathogens without encountering any detectable resistance — a finding that challenges long-held scientific beliefs and holds great promise for treating chronic infections like tuberculosis and those caused by MRSA.
Pathogens’ resistance to antibiotics is causing a public health crisis, according to Northwest’s University Distinguished Professor Kim Lewis.
Lewis’ lab played a key role in analyzing and testing teixobactin for resistance from pathogens. Lewis said this marks the first discovery of an antibiotic to which resistance by mutations of pathogens have not been identified.
The research was published Wednesday Jan. 7 in the journal Nature. Lewis and Northeastern biology professor Slava Epstein co-authored the paper with colleagues from the University of Bonn in Germany, NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Selcia Limited in the United Kingdom./.../
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