The frightening possibility of antibiotic resistance would make wounds deadly and surgery dramatically risky.
Australian scientists are part of the world-wide effort to find a solution to the problem and they are focusing on a class of drug called octapeptins.
Discovered in the 1970s,octapeptins were not selected for development because so many other promising antibiotics were being developed.
According to the journal Cell Chemical Biology, tests on this class have shown octapeptins are better antimicrobial agents than other antibiotics and are not toxic to the kidneys.
Rick Good spent ten years in the newspaper business, including with The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) and The Greenville News (Greenville, SC). He co-wrote, with Melinda Coleman, Rutledge to Riley: Governors of South Carolina, 1776–Present (Published by The Greenville News), and is the author of Mind Games Trivia #1 (Amazon). He has recently spent 15 years creating original trivia content through Sounds Good Mobile Entertainment and continues that with his new company, SGME Software. He edits The Smart Reader’s money, real estate, and business coverage.
