Bacteria are tiny, single-celled organisms that can cause infections in humans. antibiotics are drugs that kill bacteria or stop their growth.
Pathogenic bacteria are bacteria that cause infections. They can cause a wide range of diseases, from a simple ear infection to more serious diseases like pneumonia or meningitis.
Some pathogenic bacteria are resistant to antibiotics. This means that they are not killed by the antibiotic and can continue to cause disease.
However, new research is providing insight into how antibiotics work and how they can be used to kill pathogenic bacteria.
A recent study published in the journal Nature used a new high-tech microscope to watch how antibiotics work inside a pathogenic bacterium.
The researchers used a technique called super-resolution microscopy to watch how the antibiotic ciprofloxacin kills bacteria. This antibiotic is commonly used to treat respiratory infections.
The researchers found that the antibiotic worked by attacking a structure called the bacterial cell wall. This structure is essential for the bacterium to keep its shape.
Without a cell wall, the bacterium would collapse and die. The researchers also found that the antibiotic caused changes in the shape of the bacterial cell.
This study provides new insight into how antibiotics work and how they can be used to kill pathogenic bacteria.
Imagine being able to see antibiotics in action inside a pathogenic bacterium. Scientists at the University of York have developed a new imaging technique that allows them to do just that.
The technique, called Correlative Light and Electron Microscopy (CLEM), combines two existing methods – light microscopy and electron microscopy – to produce images of unprecedented detail.
The team used CLEM to image the effect of antibiotics on the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which is a common cause of infections in hospital patients.
The images show how the antibiotic ciprofloxacin kills the bacterium by damaging its DNA. The technique could be used to study the effects of other antibiotics on different types of bacteria, and could help scientists to develop new and more effective antibiotics.
This is an amazing breakthrough that allows us to see the effects of antibiotics on bacteria in real time. This will help us to develop new and more effective antibiotics to fight against drug-resistant bacteria.
