Penicillin News and Research

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Penicillin (sometimes abbreviated PCN or pen) is a group of antibiotics derived from ''Penicillium'' fungi. Penicillin antibiotics are historically significant because they are the first drugs that were effective against many previously serious diseases such as syphilis and Staphylococcus infections.

Detailed phenotypic information on resistance genes can guide future drug development

The genes that are able to equip bacteria with resistance to clinically used antibiotics have been found in many different natural environments. Nevertheless, a functional overview of the resistance genes found in common human bacterial pathogens has been missing so far.

6 Feb 2018

WHO's new surveillance data reveals widespread occurrence of antibiotic resistance

WHO's first release of surveillance data on antibiotic resistance reveals high levels of resistance to a number of serious bacterial infections in both high- and low-income countries.

29 Jan 2018

Researchers propose different approach to beat antibiotic-resistant superbugs

Got a sore throat? The doctor may write a quick prescription for penicillin or amoxicillin, and with the stroke of a pen help diminish public health and your own future health by helping bacteria evolve resistance to antibiotics.

30 Dec 2017

MIT researchers discover new way to make bacteria vulnerable to existing antibiotics

MIT researchers have discovered a way to make bacteria more vulnerable to a class of antibiotics known as quinolones, which include ciprofloxacin and are often used to treat infections such as Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus.

8 Dec 2017

Scarlet fever rates in England hit highest level in 50 years

The prevalence of scarlet fever is the highest it has been in England for 50 years, according to a study published in The Lancet.

28 Nov 2017

Uncovering Bacterial Cell Wall Secrets To Combat Antibiotic Resistance

Cell walls -- the jacket-like structures that surround all known bacteria -- may turn out to be bacteria's undoing, holding the key to developing new drugs that target it for destruction.

6 Nov 2017

CSIC researchers make breakthrough in battle against superbugs

A team led by researchers from the Spanish National Research Council has made an important breakthrough in the battle against superbugs and their resistance to multiple drugs.

2 Nov 2017

Research provides insight into how two stands of double helix separate during replication

Life would be impossible if the DNA in dividing cells were replicated with anything less than near-perfect precision. Every time a nucleated cell commits to becoming two cells, every "letter" of its genome must be replicated once and only once.

24 Oct 2017

Understanding root cause of 'trench foot' opens way for new treatments

The physical cause of trench foot has been uncovered more than 100 years after the painful and debilitating condition was first identified in the First World War.

10 Oct 2017

Patients with documented penicillin allergy more likely to develop surgical site infections, study finds

A study by Massachusetts General Hospital investigators found that surgical patients believed to be allergic to penicillin were significantly more likely to develop surgical site infections than were patients with no documented allergy, a difference totally attributable to the alternative antibiotics used to prevent such infections.

9 Oct 2017

Vaccine to prevent Lyme disease on the cards

Lyme disease is an infection that spreads with the bites of an infected tick. For the past four years, a vaccine to protect dogs from this disease has been available. Now, vaccinating humans against this disease has also become a possibility.

26 Sep 2017

New technique combines electricity and chemistry to scale up drug manufacturing

Give your medicine a jolt. By using - electrochemistry - a technique that combines electricity and chemistry, future pharmaceuticals - including many of the top prescribed medications in the United States - soon may be easily scaled up to be manufactured in a more sustainable way.

10 Aug 2017

New report says completing a course of antibiotics even after symptoms abate is overrated

Antibiotics are a boon to mankind and as more and more microorganisms are developing a resistance to these drugs, researchers are delving deeper into the mechanisms of this resistance. It is a commonly held view that once begun, a course of antibiotics should be completed to prevent the emergence of resistance among the microbes.

26 Jul 2017

Methicillin use not to blame for MRSA, say researchers

The introduction of methicillin into clinical practice is not what caused the emergence of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), report researchers. According to a collaborative study by the University of St Andrews, University of Dundee and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, MRSA existed long before clinicians started using the antibiotic.

20 Jul 2017

Preserved placenta is associated with risk of infection

A recent case study published by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention highlighted that capsules of dehydrated placenta prepared for human consumption can be a source of infectious agents.

30 Jun 2017

Newly discovered natural antibiotic could help fight against drug-resistant TB

The number of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) cases is rising globally. But a newly discovered natural antibiotic -- produced by bacteria from the lung infection in a cystic fibrosis patient -- could help fight these infections.

14 Jun 2017

Synthetic biologists re-engineer yeast cells to manufacture antibiotic penicillin

The synthetic biologists from Imperial College London have re-engineered yeast cells to manufacture the nonribosomal peptide antibiotic penicillin. In laboratory experiments, they were able to demonstrate that this yeast had antibacterial properties against streptococcus bacteria.

4 May 2017

Discovery could help design better drugs to fight against antibiotic-resistant superbugs

Antibiotic resistance is a growing global health threat. So much so that a 2014 study commissioned by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom predicted that, if the problem is left unchecked, in less than 35 years more people will die from antibiotic-resistant superbugs than from cancer.

4 May 2017

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria in patients’ urine or stools linked to increased risk of drug-resistant sepsis

People who have recently been found to have drug-resistant bacteria in their urine or stool samples have a greatly increased risk of developing a bloodstream infection that is also resistant to certain antibiotics, according to a study presented at the 27th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.

24 Apr 2017

Fungi have immense potential for production of pharmaceutical compounds

Fungi are a potential goldmine for the production of pharmaceuticals. This is shown by researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, who have developed a method for finding new antibiotics from nature's own resources.

20 Apr 2017