Israeli Find Shown to Combat Antibiotic Resistance by ‘Pricking Bacteria to Death’

Israeli scientists have developed a substance that overcomes antibiotic resistance by “pricking bacteria to death,” researchers at Ben Gurion University told Israeli media on Friday, January 27, in a breakthrough that could help combat a major threat to global health.

The substance contains “nano needles” which have a lethal effect on bacteria, and will be developed into topical creams and antibacterial coatings for surfaces, the scientists said, noting that it has shown 90% effectiveness in killing antibiotic-resistant bacteria in lab conditions.

When bacteria stop being affected by antibiotics, it is known as antibiotic resistance, and these pathogens are sometimes colloquially called superbugs. The World Health Organization considers this phenomenon “one of the biggest threats to global health.”

As antibiotics work by interfering with specific functions of bacteria, researchers at Ben Gurion University in Beersheba decided to try a different approach: physically destroying the bacteria.

“Most antibiotics in use today work by affecting functions inside the bacteria, but our solution attacks the outside of the pathogen instead,” Nofar Yehuda, one of the scholars, told Israeli media. “Our solution is a material of tiny ‘nano needles’ that are basically poking the bacteria to death.”

The key ingredient is polysaccharides — long chains of carbohydrate molecules — derived from sea algae. They created the new substance by mixing the polysaccharides with tiny copper particles. (TOI / VFI News)

“This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.” - Proverbs 3:8

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