artur737 Re: AS 20.10.08, 22:23 Kolejna proba poprawienia dzialania antybiotykow, tym razem przy pomocy fagow. Fagi beda niszczyly biofilm w ktorym ukrywaja sie bakterie. Oczywicie na razie to jeszcze bardzo wstepny etap i nie wiadomo na ile oczekiwania sie zrealizuja, ale zawsze cos. Bezposredni link Bacteria beware: MIT student invents knock-out punch for antibiotic resistance Timothy Lu awarded $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize for inventiveness MIT graduate student and synthetic biologist Timothy Lu is passionate about tackling problems that pose threats to human health. His current mission: to destroy antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Today, the 27-year-old M.D. candidate and Ph.D. in the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology received the prestigious $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize for inventing processes that promise to combat bacterial infections by enhancing the effectiveness of antibiotics at killing bacteria and helping to eradicate biofilm - bacterial layers that resist antimicrobial treatment and breed on surfaces, such as those of medical, industrial and food processing equipment. Bacterial infections can lead to severe health issues. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the antibiotic-resistant bacterium MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, causes approximately 94,000 infections and contributes to 19,000 deaths annually in the United States, through contact that can occur in a variety of locations, including schools, hospitals and homes. Bacteria can also infect food, including spinach and beef, and damage industrial equipment. Lu explained that fewer pharmaceutical companies are inventing new antibiotics due to long development times, high failure rates and large costs. According to the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development, the cost to develop a new drug is $930 million (based on the value of the dollar in 2006). These factors, coupled with a decline in the number of prescriptions authorized for antibiotics, constrain profits. "Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are also becoming more prevalent," Lu noted. "My inventions enable the rapid design and production of inexpensive antibacterial agents that can break through the defenses of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and bacterial biofilms." Delivering a one-two punch Working with his advisor, J.J. Collins, professor of biomedical engineering at Boston University, Lu developed two bacteriophage platforms to overcome antibiotic resistance. Bacteriophage are viruses that only infect bacteria, not human cells. They have been used since the early 20th century to treat bacterial infections; however, they fell out of favor in the United States due to the advent of antibiotics. Lu's work represents an exciting application of synthetic biology, which is an emerging field focused on the rational engineering of organisms to achieve novel functions. Lu has engineered bacteriophage to boost antibiotic effectiveness. The bacteriophage carries DNA that codes for factors that target bacterial gene networks, which former treatments failed to reach, and destroys bacterial antibiotic resistance mechanisms. The weakened bacterial defenses enable antibiotics to perform better. Administered together, Lu's bacteriophage and antibiotics have the potential to eliminate nearly 30,000 times more bacteria than antibiotics alone, including cells that survive antibiotic-only treatment. This combination treatment also thwarts development of stronger antibiotic resistance, which can extend the lifetime of existing and future antibiotic drugs. "While working at a hospital as part of a graduate course, I saw many patients who contracted new infections due to already-compromised immune systems or equipment that is extremely difficult to keep sterile," Lu recalled. "Being infected by difficult-to-eradicate bacteria is a traumatic experience for patients and a serious public health issue that needs attention. I thought that there had to be a solution for these infections." Odpowiedz Link Zgłoś
artur737 Re: AS 20.10.08, 22:25 Kolejna proba poprawienia dzialania antybiotykow, tym razem przy pomocy fagow. Fagi beda niszczyly biofilm w ktorym ukrywaja sie bakterie. Oczywicie na razie to jeszcze bardzo wstepny etap i nie wiadomo na ile oczekiwania sie zrealizuja, ale zawsze cos. Bezposredni link Bacteria beware: MIT student invents knock-out punch for antibiotic resistance Timothy Lu awarded $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize for inventiveness MIT graduate student and synthetic biologist Timothy Lu is passionate about tackling problems that pose threats to human health. His current mission: to destroy antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Today, the 27-year-old M.D. candidate and Ph.D. in the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology received the prestigious $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize for inventing processes that promise to combat bacterial infections by enhancing the effectiveness of antibiotics at killing bacteria and helping to eradicate biofilm - bacterial layers that resist antimicrobial treatment and breed on surfaces, such as those of medical, industrial and food processing equipment. Bacterial infections can lead to severe health issues. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the antibiotic-resistant bacterium MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, causes approximately 94,000 infections and contributes to 19,000 deaths annually in the United States, through contact that can occur in a variety of locations, including schools, hospitals and homes. Bacteria can also infect food, including spinach and beef, and damage industrial equipment. Lu explained that fewer pharmaceutical companies are inventing new antibiotics due to long development times, high failure rates and large costs. According to the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development, the cost to develop a new drug is $930 million (based on the value of the dollar in 2006). These factors, coupled with a decline in the number of prescriptions authorized for antibiotics, constrain profits. "Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are also becoming more prevalent," Lu noted. "My inventions enable the rapid design and production of inexpensive antibacterial agents that can break through the defenses of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and bacterial biofilms." Delivering a one-two punch Working with his advisor, J.J. Collins, professor of biomedical engineering at Boston University, Lu developed two bacteriophage platforms to overcome antibiotic resistance. Bacteriophage are viruses that only infect bacteria, not human cells. They have been used since the early 20th century to treat bacterial infections; however, they fell out of favor in the United States due to the advent of antibiotics. Lu's work represents an exciting application of synthetic biology, which is an emerging field focused on the rational engineering of organisms to achieve novel functions. Lu has engineered bacteriophage to boost antibiotic effectiveness. The bacteriophage carries DNA that codes for factors that target bacterial gene networks, which former treatments failed to reach, and destroys bacterial antibiotic resistance mechanisms. The weakened bacterial defenses enable antibiotics to perform better. Administered together, Lu's bacteriophage and antibiotics have the potential to eliminate nearly 30,000 times more bacteria than antibiotics alone, including cells that survive antibiotic-only treatment. This combination treatment also thwarts development of stronger antibiotic resistance, which can extend the lifetime of existing and future antibiotic drugs. "While working at a hospital as part of a graduate course, I saw many patients who contracted new infections due to already-compromised immune systems or equipment that is extremely difficult to keep sterile," Lu recalled. "Being infected by difficult-to-eradicate bacteria is a traumatic experience for patients and a serious public health issue that needs attention. I thought that there had to be a solution for these infections." Odpowiedz Link Zgłoś
